Dictate The Game
Latest Posts
Why we love Football Manager
Plenty of us love Football Manager. With the increase in numbers from the free week during the current situation there will probably be plenty more that get the addiction. It makes us dress up in suits for finals, and sometimes smash screens, but we love it all the same. We all love different things about Football Manager too, and all play in different ways. Some of us fight from the non-leagues up, others go straight to the top. Some wheel… Read More Read More
Inter the Game
Thank you for joining me again. If you missed my Inter-o you can catch it here. I can’t proceed with an Inter save on Football Manager 20 without talking a little bit about tactics. And specifically, the two main periods of success during the 111 years of the club’s history. This post will cover my thoughts of the tactics during these moments in Inters history. Herrera’s Grande Cat. Helenio Herrera joined Inter in 1960 from Barcelona. He brought with him… Read More Read More
Inter the Game
Thank you for joining me again. If you missed my Inter-o you can catch it here. I can’t proceed with an Inter save on Football Manager 20 without talking a little bit about tactics. And specifically, the two main periods of success during the 111 years of the club’s history. This post will cover my thoughts of the tactics during these moments in Inters history. Herrera’s Grande Cat. Helenio Herrera joined Inter in 1960 from Barcelona. He brought with him… Read More Read More
Unsung Heroes: False Nine
False Nine’s in football have become one of the most mainstream striker roles in history. Ever since Vincente Del Bosque used the role in the 2012 World Cup to win the competition, more and more teams have been using this role in their team; some to no avail, and some have toppled giants. But what is a False Nine and where did it come from? Who is considered the best False Nine? How can it be implemented correctly into Football… Read More Read More
4-3-3 Role Guide: The Back Four
This articles continues my guided series on crafting the ultimate 4-3-3 Possession Tactic. I have been enamoured with this formation in FM20. I believe it offers the perfect balance of attack and defence while maintaining high possession. Possession has always been important for me when creating tactics although I have never been a fan of possession just for the sake of possession. Thus the main of this series is to find ways to optimize possession with intent within the limits… Read More Read More
Players Are People Too
I have been playing Football Manager, and Championship Manager before it, since 1998. I’ve developed a philosophy of play that’s been quite successful, and I want to share that philosophy with you today.
Player Traits for your Strikers: Place, Power, Round or Lob?
Player Traits (or Player Preferred Moves – PPM’s as they used to be) can have a huge impact on your Football Manager experience. Just like in the real world, from the Premier League to non-league, in FM20 what a player prefers to do can change the way your tactics actually work. You might be telling your player to do one things, and they might be trying something completely different. Perhaps more importantly though the right moves or traits can change… Read More Read More
Dictate The Game Official Store Now OPEN!
It has been some time since we first attempted to release our store. We have now got to a stage where we can officially say that we are ready. So here it is, the Dictate The Game store. The store can be accessed via a direct link, or through our website, by simply pressing store. Our intentions with the store are not to get as many sales as possible, but to simply give people an option for alternative merchandise. This… Read More Read More
4-3-3 Role Guide: Attack and Midfield
Only a few years ago, under Arsene Wenger, Arsenal was playing some of the most attractive football in Premiership. Over the course of his long stay, the visionary Frenchman changed the club DNA significantly. The Gunners went from playing boring park-the-bus to fast-paced short passing possession game. Before Pep’s Manchester City, there was Arsenal’s elegant Tiki-Taka-style that was making waves in England. Wenger turned English football on its head with his brand of attractive football that focused on technical ability… Read More Read More
FM20 | Anti-Football | Part 2
Welcome to the second post in my Anti-Football series. If you missed the first one you can check it out here. At the end of the last post we were just outside the play-offs in 8th. I made some changes, brought in some cover in January and we’ve improved significantly. In this post I’ll outline how I’ve improved my tactic, how I adapt during games, my scouting criteria and plans for next season.
Taking on the World | FM20 Story | #3
Welcome back to the Football Manager 2020 story ‘Taking on the World’. This FM20 story is a classic journeyman save as we attempt to travel around the world and ticking off as many countries as we can. The aim of this FM20 story is not to stay at the same club for more than one full season. I am not allowed to accept a job offer from another club in the same country if I am already managing a club… Read More Read More
Inter the Game – Loading…. Football Manager 20.
Inter the Game is a brand new Football Manager 20 save and a new story from FM Brooklyn. This new FM20 story will see my alter ego Gianni Rosabosa take charge of Italian Serie A side Inter Milan. The Football Manager is revealed We join Gianni in his opening press conference. **Click click, click click** Camera shutters are making a the clicking noise. Gianni Rosabosa is sat in the middle chair behind the conference table at the Suning Training Centre,… Read More Read More
How does he fare: Martin Braithewaite
Martin Braithewaite was transferred to FC Barcelona last month. And his transfer sparked many a debate in world Football. Despite the La Liga having very particular rules about transfers, Barcelona were given the right to sign a replacement striker after Ousmane Dembele picked up a long-term injury. Overall, his sporadic transfer after Barcelona triggered the Leganes striker’s release clause sparked many a footballing fan up in debates on whether he would make the cut at the Blaugrana, and whether it… Read More Read More
How I Learned to Stop Worrying & Love 4-3-3
It seems that midway through the life-cycle of every Football Manager game there comes a time for change. It is usually when long-running saves start feeling stale. And a new challenge is needed to keep the game fresh. Sometimes it is a matter of changing up the tactics. The recent major Match Engine update has made me realize that my tactics were not doing what I wanted. We were winning games, but not in the way I wished. So I… Read More Read More
Red Star Alliance: Shithousing the Shithousers (Socceroo Style Survival Tactics)
After two seasons playing variations on the Allardyce 4-5-1 (4-3-3) system, I decided it was time for a change. Considering we had grossly overachieved with Red Star Wrexham and gotten into the Championship ahead of schedule, I am faced with the daunting prospect of avoiding relegation. Given that we’ve already mastered the dark arts of defensive, pragmatic, resultism football, where else could we go? How does a team of shithousers get even shithousier? After a few days of reflection, the… Read More Read More
FM20 | Anti-Football | Simeone’s Symphony
In the past, I have put a lot of emphasis into playing football “the right way”. In my FM18 save, I played Total Football with Ajax, the founders of the Cruyffian way of playing. A year later, I was experimenting with Arrigo Sacchi’s variant of total football in my save with Uniao de Madeira. In my current Moneyball save I have gone with a spin on the Hungarian Golden Team’s fluid style, an attacking 4-2-4. A change was required. I… Read More Read More
5 Teams to Manage with FM20’s January Update
It’s that time of year again. Football Manager release their January update and everyone looks for a team to manage. We have 5 teams to manage with FM20’s January Update that might be worth trying out. Due to the release of the updated January database, it would only be right if we gave a few suggestions. Unfortunately, Football Manager already released their own version of this. However, I have decided to go with 5 teams, instead of 10 and… Read More Read More
Dictate the Podcast – A new and improved FM20 podcast
Podcast History There has been a Dictate the Game podcast kicking around for quite a while. Alongside the articles we write and cover here we also talk nonsense online so you can listen to it as well. For a long time we had been hosting this on youtube at the DTG channel. You can see we have around 20 episodes covering FM19 if they take your fancy. We even had a go at live recording via Twitch. If you follow… Read More Read More
Red Star Alliance: Resultism (30 Ways To Not Lose)
As mentioned in my previous articles in this series, I wanted to achieve success playing pragmatic football. Considering we’ve taken Red Star Wrexham from the VNL to the Championship in just three seasons, pragmatism doesn’t quite cut it as a good description. To use a term attributed to our lord and saviour Big Sam, we can only call it one thing: Resultism. If pragmatism is the acceptance of who you are and making the best of what you’ve got, resultism… Read More Read More
Taking on the World | FM Story | #2
Welcome back to the Football Manager 2020 story ‘Taking on the World’. This FM20 story is a classic journeyman save as we attempt to travel around the world and ticking off as many countries as we can. The aim of this FM20 story is not to stay at the same club for more than one full season. I am not allowed to accept a job offer from another club in the same country if I am already managing a club… Read More Read More
How to manage in a crisis on #FM20
You’re on a roll. You’re winning without having to break sweat. Keep everything the same, you say: you’ve found a winning formula. Except, as every experienced FM campaigner will know, it’s never that easy. Sooner of later, the wheel of fortune will turn. In my experience, the turning point can be undramatic. Just an underwhelming performance or two. Perhaps a draw in a match you should have won. And then it happens. Your team plunges into a terrifying descent. And… Read More Read More
Pacific FC – The Spring Season
Spring surprises for us & based upon the 2019 seasons final standings, the though of Pacific finishing near the top appears to be a pipe dream. The pre-season was intense & challenging but the players are prepared for what’s ahead. More signings joined the squad with a full squad of 23 players. One huge frustration is being able to bring a squad together when the salary cap is so low.
Unsung Heroes: Deep Lying Playmaker
Learn how to use a Deep Lying Playmaker in your team, using real life examples of players. In history, football has seen many heroes grace the pitch. From Pele to Maradona, mastering the arts of scoring goals. To Lev Yashin and Peter Schmeichel keeping them from hitting the back of the net. But in between these two extremities, between scoring goals and stopping them, what happens in the middle of the pitch? We at Dictate the Game love this role,… Read More Read More
Young Devils – Samba United and The Magic Box
There are two ways to creating tactics in Football Manager 2020. One that most FM players, myself included, use is to start with an idea of what kind of tactical style you want to achieve. Then look at your team and try to mold your players into the roles that fit such a style. Sometimes this can work very well, especially when starting with a squad that worked under such a system before. For example it will be easier to… Read More Read More
Making Pulis Proud – The No-Nonsense Full-back in FM20
The no-nonsense full-back might not be the player role in FM20 that get’s many plaudits but it is one that can be a complete gamechanger. I find it often will be overlooked for more attractive roles like the Anchorman or even Targetman. Here at Dictate the Game there are a few of us that worship at the altar of hoofball. You can hear us wax lyrical about it on the podcast quite often. Some of us are more inspired by… Read More Read More
Why FM Touch might be the game for you
A lot of people think FM Touch isn’t the same as the full Football Manager 2020 release, but there are a lot similarities. The game itself can still offer the same satisfaction, and excitement but in a toned down version.There are so many reasons people don’t consider, as to why FM Touch could be a perfect alternative to the full game. This article will explain those, from a personal perspective.
FM20 | Moneyball | Part 2
Welcome back to my Moneyball series. If you missed part 1 you can check it out here, and if you have no idea what Moneyball is you can check out my FM19 series here. This time we will be looking at how the tactics I’m using are shaping my search for signings. We’ll also take a dive into my results so far, and compare my January targets with similar players and my own squad.
Red Star Alliance: Big Sam’s Greatest Hits (Tactics ala Allardyce)
This instalment of the Red Star Alliance series continues my current obsession with all things Sam Allardyce and outlines my FM Interpretation of a “greatest hits” (pun intended) album from his time at Bolton. These tactics were developed in conjunction with Big Sam’s Fantastic Four data metrics for my Red Star Wrexham save. Recreating IRL tactics is my preferred approach to FM. I watched Bolton matches from their most successful period (2003-2007) where they competed in Europe and made Cup Finals…. Read More Read More
Taking on the World | FM20 Story | #1
Welcome to a brand new Football Manager 2020 story called ‘Taking on the World’. This FM20 story is a classic journeyman save as we attempt to travel around the world and ticking off as many countries as we can. The aim of this FM20 story is not to stay at the same club for more than one full season. I am not allowed to accept a job offer from another club in the same country if I am already managing… Read More Read More
Data Analysts: How important are they?
How important is a Data Analyst in YOUR team?
Total Football, Total Balance: The Most Important Attribute
Young Devils Guide Football Manager is a cultural phenomenon because it is a game that is built around numerical statistics and spreadsheets. And at the core of all the stats, are player attributes, representing their technical, mental and physical ability. Which in on themselves are simple collections of numbers. Yet they can make us whoop with joy, when you first see that wonderkid regen with green 16+ values across the board. Or sigh in frustration when confronted with down-pointing red… Read More Read More
Pacific FC – A CPL tale
The Canadian Premier League is a new challenge. I’ll be taking charge of Pacific for the 2020 season is by no means an easy task. It’s one that presents several obstacles such as working under a tight financial restraint. Did you know that the overall squad wage must not exceed £11,250 P/W? That’s for a full squad of 23 players which just seems bizarre to me. But that’s something I’m gonna have to work through whilst building a squad that… Read More Read More
Targetman: Superhero Striker for FM20
Targetman. Sounds like a low-budget Marvel character but in reality they are the no-nonsense hero your FM20 team might need. Playing a Targetman up front as one of your striker roles might not be popular amoungst fashionable teams. You might not see the likes Manchester City, Barcelona and Liverpool doing it. Or even generally across top divisions like La Liga and the EPL. The striker role of Targetman might have negative links with brutal and direct teams but that is… Read More Read More
Finding Wonderkids in FM20 Guide
Finding Wonderkids on Football Manager is always one of the most satisfying aspects of the game. Building a team of young prospects and watching them turn in to some of the best players in the world is so satisying. Finding Wonderkids in FM20 is no different, there are even more ways to find that next key player to take you to the next level.
FM20 | Moneyball | Part 1
Welcome back to Moneyball. It’s been a while. After starting my Data Analysis Masters this September, I haven’t had as much time as I would have liked to sink my teeth into FM20 and get started with my Moneyball series. With a gap in the calendar, and a free January, I’ve decided now is a good time to get writing.
Red Star Alliance: Big Sam’s Fantastic Four
This article continues the Red Star Alliance experiment, an affiliation of community-owned clubs featuring Red Star Wrexham.
David Moyes as West Ham Manager| FM20 Experiment
After just a season and half, Manuel Pellergini was fired as the West Ham United manager in December 2019, due to poor form and The Hammers slipping down the league table. On the 29th December 2019, the manager that Pellergini succeeded then replaced him as David Moyes returned to Stratford on an 18 month contract. Moyes is best known for his spell at Everton where he spent thirteen seasons and led them to European football. He was unable to win… Read More Read More
Red Star Alliance: The Revolution Begins
COUNTER-ATTACKING CORPORATE FOOTBALLFootball is no stranger to commercialism but corporate interests have slowly taken over the game, and in some cases, taken over our clubs. We now find ourselves in an era of ridiculous transfer fees, wage bills, and other escalating costs that are ultimately passed onto the fans. In some cases, the fans have taken it upon themselves and established community-owned clubs run by supporters trusts as an alternative to the City Groups, PSG, Man United, and Red Bulls of… Read More Read More
Jóvenes Diablos – The Spanish 4-1-4-1 Armada
And How to Use the Best PPM in FM20 The summer 2020 has been one of many changes at Old Trafford, both in the locker-room and tactical drawing board. As a result of endless tactical tweaking, I think I arrived at a tactic that I am finally happy with. It is a good old 4-1-4-1! This article will show you I think it is the best formation in FM20, and how one particular Player Trait can make it even better…. Read More Read More
Three in One Tactical Planning – Colours of the Flag
Welcome to Three in One Tactical Planning, part of the Colours of the Flag series which will be running on Dictate the Game, in this post we will be looking at how in Football Manager 2020 you can create three tactics, all to aid and work together to get you the points needed in this virtual world of FM20. Don’t forget to head over to other posts on the website after you have enjoyed this Three in One Tactical Planning… Read More Read More
Young Devils – Total Football DNA and Two Johans
Or how to use Club DNA to keep your FM20 save interesting The influence of Total Football has been far-reaching in both time and place. Since its dramatic entry into the world in 1974 it changed the face of the sport as we know it. Marcelo Bielsa, Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola were all influenced by Johan Cruyff and Rinus Michels in 1970s Netherlands. If not for them, Spanish Tiki-Taka would not have existed. In this followup to my last… Read More Read More
How to tell if your Goalkeeper is any good using xG against in FM20
The Goalkeeper. We need them, but I am terrible at working out whether mine are actually any good. With us being deep into our FM20 saves, whether we are in the Premier League with high fliers like Liverpool or in the lower leagues fighting against relegation, were are all probably looking at how to improve out teams. This could be through the transfer market, via training, or even tactically. However we plan on making changes we have to work out… Read More Read More
Recreating Total Football in FM20
Is it Possible in a Football Manager Game? 1974. To some football enthusiasts (and Ajax fans), this was the year when football reached its apotheosis as a sport. The highest point in the development of the beautiful game, when it was the closest it would ever be to an art-form. Some would even argue that the game has been on the downturn ever since, as the sport gets more and more violent and mechanical and VAR discussions dominate the media…. Read More Read More
Anchorman FM20: the unsung hero of player roles
The Anchorman in FM20 is a role that doesn’t get enough attention. Whether you’re in the Premier League or the lower leagues, this role can be a game changer and help your team reach the heights of success. In this guide I will show you how important the anchor man can be in Football Manager 20.
Young Devils – Creating Overloads 2.0
The Hammer and Anvil Tactic (download below) FM20 Followup To: My obsession with overloads first started in FM19 with Roma. At that time I fell in love with this simple and effective strategy. The consistent results it led to with the Giallorossi, made me even more respectful of Pep Guardiola’s football philosophy and his achievements. More recently while researching for my current Young Devils series, I started to realize how much of an effect Marcelo Bielsa’s ideas had on Pep’s… Read More Read More
FM2020 Guides: Top Countries & Clubs to Scout
In this guide we bring you the top clubs and countries to scout to have the best chance of finding wonderkids in your saves.
DTG’s Day at SI Towers
Saturday 9th November 2019. Stratford, London. That was the date and place in our diaries….why? A trip to SI Towers for Ryan and Luke… what could possibly go wrong…?
Top 20 Free Transfers – FM20 – Premier League
Welcome to this Football Manager 2020 guide to help you find the best free transfers for the Premier League, the top 20 free transfers! In this Top 20 Free Transfers – FM20 post we save you clicking, searching and failing to find the gems to help you get to the top of the league! This was done with Watford in the Premier League, there is a chance one or two players might have not wanted to join Watford who would… Read More Read More
Top 20 Free Transfers – FM20 – Non League North
Welcome to this Football Manager 2020 guide to help you find the best free transfers in non league North, the top 20 free transfers! In this Top 20 Free Transfers – FM20 post we save you clicking, searching and failing to find the gems to help you get to the football league if you are starting in the North of the country. Miles Jacobson@milesSIWinner of Twitpoll roulette – 26314. When players are released, particularly when at lower levels or youth… Read More Read More
Young Devils – The Art of Keeping Tactics Simple
I have been getting many questions about the team instructions for the two possible formations that I revealed in my last article. I answered some of you to the best of my ability but I think that this article will be my opportunity to clear some things up and to discuss a few important tactical goals/challenges that I have in mind for my Young Devils. First of all I intend Young Devils Project to be much more focused than either… Read More Read More