Football Manager 2017 tactics: 7 steps to a winning strategy

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From countering the opposition to ensuring your set-up gets the best from your players, Fraser Gilbert shares seven tactics tips to help you achieve success

Football Manager 2017 tactics

If you’re new to Football Manager, trying to analyse a losing streak can prove utterly bewildering (and rage-inducing). The majority of the time, it’s down to your tactics (sorry). Somewhere - whether it’s your formation, mentality, instructions or another element of your strategy - you’re going wrong (did we say sorry already?).

Football Manager 2017 incorporates a range of key tactical features you’ll need to master for success. We’ve taken this opportunity to offer some basic tips to help you do just that. Take heed of these seven steps, and you’ll soon convert those losses into wins...

1. Check your team report

When you start a new game, you’ll be presented with a team report, surveying the strengths and weaknesses of your side. Be sure to pay attention, as this data provides key hints as to which tactics will best suit the team. The squad depth screen can also prove useful, giving you a clear indication of your squad’s efficiency in each position.

From here you can utilise this information to determine your ideal tactical set-up. Blessed with an abundance of wingers? Think of adopting a wide formation. Packing a set of tall, strong attacking players? You might fancy a direct, long-ball system. Your team report is valuable - make sure you use it.

2. Player roles

Naturally, you’ll want to equip your new tactic with the best players for each role, as determined by their attributes, morale, fitness and other factors. But an often neglected consideration is that of player roles – determining how each player will carry out their duties on the field.

By clicking on a player’s profile, you can see just how efficient they are in each role, as well as the key attributes required by said tasks (highlighted in dark and light blue). After exploring this, you can alter your tactics to best suit your players, as well as developing bespoke training plans to help them adapt to your new system if necessary.

3. Mentalities and shapes

Your next step is to assign the team’s mentality and shape. Generally, dominant teams will go for a ‘standard’, ‘control’ or even ‘attacking’ mentality; weaker sides, meanwhile, often favour a more defensive, opportunistic approach. Less creative squads might also opt for a structured shape, as opposed to the fluid, more expressive styles of an Arsenal or a Barcelona.

Don’t be fooled into thinking that something like a ‘counter’ mentality is too defensive to use on a regular basis. If your team is packed with fast-breaking attackers and regimented defenders, it might be the perfect tactic. Just keep an eye out for the ‘contain’ and ‘overload’ mentalities - they’re best reserved for extreme mid-match circumstances at most.

4. Play safe with team instructions

For first-time players, the team instructions screen can prove overwhelming. The key to finding success with this element of the game initially is to play safe - your chosen mentality will alter your instructions by default anyway.

Instead, focus on one or two strengths, and keep it simple. If your team’s quality lies in its wingers, it might be worth checking the ‘clear ball to flanks’ option. Similarly, if you’re blessed with great passers of the ball, the ‘pass into space’ option might be worth considering.

Whatever you do, make sure your team instructions align with your mentality and shape. Conflicting duties will only hinder your side’s chances.

5. Analyse the opposition

The ability to achieve consistent success is reliant on your ability to adapt to opposing teams' tactics. So when you get pre-match reports on an upcoming side, don’t dismiss them – use them to identify potential weaknesses in their current system.

Before the game starts, you can also engage in dictating opposition instructions to your squad. Showing dangerous strikers onto their weak foot, tightly marking a creative midfielder and closing down defenders who lack composure on the ball are all worth considering. Just be sure to limit yourself – too many instructions can throw your mentality and shape out of whack.

6. Shake it up

There was a time when you could pick a winning formation and simply watch the trophies roll in. But Football Manager’s depth has since evolved substantially since then, so to win you’ll need multiple strategies at your disposal. If you don’t, your opponents will soon learn to counter your once-dominant approach.

It’s also important to familiarise your players with each set-up you choose. This will happen naturally as you play more games, but you can speed it up by focusing your match preparation training on ‘match tactics’. Be wary of changing your side’s team instructions too regularly, as this can slow the familiarity process down.

7. Download other players’ tactics

Struggling to find that all-important tactic to suit your side? You could always download someone else’s. For years, FM fanatics have exported their strategies to the web for others to use in-game, incorporating everything from real-world replicas to strikerless set-ups.

Many of these tactics come with advisory instructions regarding which player roles, mentalities and team instructions to employ, taking the responsibility out of your hands. Arguably, it’s not quite as satisfying as discovering a winning strategy for yourself, but if lifting trophies is your main aim then this is a fine way to do it.

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Fraser Gilbert