At GOAL, readers learn how to craft custom tactics for Football Manager 2024.
Space on the pitch ranks among the most valuable assets in modern football. A strategic approach designed to create more space, known as positional play, has surged to the forefront of top-tier leagues in recent years. Pep Guardiola, Manchester City’s manager, is often cited as a leading advocate of this movement. In essence, positional play asks players to adjust their positions to find the extra man, offering the ball carrier more passing options and enabling the team to advance the ball with speed and precision. In Football Manager 2024, positional play is making a notable debut, with meaningful improvements to player rotations — the art of moving players to different positions while the team holds possession — during matches. These changes help teams maintain a fluid style that mirrors the best sides on the field.
Add an extra player to the attack
Among the most frequently used systems in contemporary football is the 4-2-3-1, which is being revived in FM24. The training examples illustrate a midfield base featuring a second midfielder alongside a defensive midfielder, and an advanced playmaker positioned at number 10. In a typical FM24 match, this shape on the ball looks different from when the team is out of possession. By tweaking rotations, the second midfielder gains liberty to join the attack as the second operator behind the striker when the team is in possession, creating a secondary layer of threat in the final third.
Positional play becomes particularly impactful here. The advanced playmaker tracks the forward motion of the second midfielder and creates extra space in front of him, effectively forming a four-player unit behind the striker. Taking Manchester City as an example, Mateo Kovacic operates as the second midfielder while Kevin De Bruyne acts as the advanced playmaker. De Bruyne then moves higher to accommodate Kovacic’s progress, and Phil Foden, though positioned wide as an inverted winger, can start from a wider stance to support Kovacic’s ascent. This arrangement yields a 4-1-4-1 shape when in possession, typically offering a numerical edge over the opponent’s defensive line and more scoring opportunities for teammates. With the added support, attackers gain more chances for linked plays, which often translate into goals and, ultimately, trophies [Goal].
Add smart defenders to the mix
Player rotations in FM24 extend beyond midfielders and wingers. The new Inverted Side Defender feature, alongside improvements to the Inverted Backward mechanic, enables smoother shapes across the entire pitch. The 4-3-3 formation becomes a straightforward framework, yet the upgraded defenders alter how the game unfolds. In this setup, Kyle Walker operates as an inverted lateral defender, positioning himself as a third central defender, while Josko Gvardiol moves forward as an inverted full-back to support Rodri in a double defensive pivot. With additional cover behind them, Kevin De Bruyne and Bernardo Silva advance further to back the attacking trio. Jeremy Doku and Phil Foden stay wide, maintaining a four-man attacking unit that links with Erling Haaland in the final third. This configuration gives a clearer picture of the shape teams bear when in possession [Goal].
What these positional rotations accomplish is tactical flexibility. With smarter player movements, a team’s shape can adapt dynamically to different phases of an attack, allowing the side to thread passes through lines and overload attacking regions. The result is a stronger platform to pursue trophies during key moments of the game, on the field and in the standings [Goal].
Football Manager 2024 is available for purchase now here.
Source: Goal