Not all managers are tactical masterminds. Luckily, Football Manager helps those managers out that can't spend the time building their own tactical. Tactical styles are templates that give you a head start and a visual 2D representation of how it will play out, from Tiki-Taka to Parking the Bus. Equally, veteran players can tinker their tactics as much as ever to create the style they desire.
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Popularised by the Liverpool boss, Jürgen Klopp, the Gegenpress is another positive tactical philosophy that will test your club’s training regimen. This style is all about harassing the other team in their own half, ruthlessly pressing loose balls. Gegenpress can leave you vulnerable at the back, however, so you’ll have to place considerable trust in your team’s pace, stamina, and ball retention.
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An attacking and positive strategy, Tiki-Taka places on emphasis on short, rapid passing and a high defensive line. Possession should rarely be relinquished and it’s unlikely your every player will have more than a couple of touches of the ball before releasing. A style popularised by Pep Guardiola, it relies on players being patient on the ball to build-up play from the back.
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Vertical Tiki-Taka is more direct than its tactical sibling made famous by the Spanish national team. The key difference is a focus more on direct penetration than patient side-to-side passing. Effectively both this and the more traditional version of this tactic are more focused versions of the Control Possession style.
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Wing Play features a focus on width as the ball is spread as quickly as possible to the touchline, with full-backs busting a gut to overlap and offer an offensive outlet. Pacey wingers that can offer a handy ball into the box are just as essential as the tall strikers capable of converting them.
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In the lower leagues or as an under-the-cosh away side this can be a useful counter-attacking style. Just soak up opposition pressure and play a lofty ball right where it hurts. Fast and patient forwards are recommended. If you’re managing a club battling it out amid the highest echelons of the game with fans paying through-the-nose to see their team, play this tactical style and you should expect a revolt.
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You’ll be inviting pressure from the other team in your half when it comes to the Fluid Counter-Attack tactic. Once the opposition has over-committed your midfielders and forwards will be looking for gaps and vulnerabilities quickly. In layman’s terms: your side will be less inclined to stick rigidly to their position in their mad dash to get forward.
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The crucial difference between this and the former style is the strategy with which your first XI counters. Here the attacking passing is more direct and structured, which is something your players will need to know inside out from training.
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The Catenaccio style relies on an airtight defence to frustrate enemy attacks. Your team will need to move as a solid, impregnable unit, so your side will have to boast strong communication and defensive skill. Catenaccio translates as ‘door-bolt’ from the Italian, which gives you a pretty good idea of what this tactical style is all about.
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Used often as a pejorative term, Parking the Bus is the philosophy of the footballing philistine; it’s for teams that are well aware their chances of victory are slim. With a backline so far back it'll look like a wall for the opposition, your players will be looking to waste time at any opportunity, slow the pace of the game to a standstill, and disrupt the opposition’s flow.
Suggested formations:
Control Possession
If you want to control possession and patiently wait for an opportunity to penetrate the opposition’s defence, you’re going to need to play a high line with a fluid formation. In other words, your side will be comfortable adapting their position depending on the situation. This high press, the high-intensity style will be tiring, but it’ll be harder for the other team to charge you down consistently for 90 minutes.
Suggested formations:
- 4-2-3-1 Wide
- 4-1-4-1 DM Wide
- 5-2-2-1 WB
Gegenpress
Popularised by the Liverpool boss, Jürgen Klopp, the Gegenpress is another positive tactical philosophy that will test your club’s training regimen. This style is all about harassing the other team in their own half, ruthlessly pressing loose balls. Gegenpress can leave you vulnerable at the back, however, so you’ll have to place considerable trust in your team’s pace, stamina, and ball retention.
Suggested formations:
- 4-1-4-1 DM Wide
- 4-2-3-1 Wide
- 4-4-2 Diamond Narrow
Tiki-Taka
Suggested formations:
- 4-1-4-1 DM Wide
- 4-2-3-1 Wide
- 5-2-2-1 WB
Vertical Tiki-Taka
Vertical Tiki-Taka is more direct than its tactical sibling made famous by the Spanish national team. The key difference is a focus more on direct penetration than patient side-to-side passing. Effectively both this and the more traditional version of this tactic are more focused versions of the Control Possession style.
Suggested formations:
- 4-1-4-1 DM Wide
- 4-4-2 Diamond Narrow
- 5-2-1-2 WB
Wing Play
Suggested formations:
- 4-4-2
- 4-1-4-1 DM Wide
- 4-2-4 Wide
Route One
In the lower leagues or as an under-the-cosh away side this can be a useful counter-attacking style. Just soak up opposition pressure and play a lofty ball right where it hurts. Fast and patient forwards are recommended. If you’re managing a club battling it out amid the highest echelons of the game with fans paying through-the-nose to see their team, play this tactical style and you should expect a revolt.
Suggested formations:
- 4-4-2
- 4-1-4-1 DM Wide
- 4-4-1-1
Fluid Counter-Attack
Suggested formations:
- 4-1-4-1 DM Wide
- 4-4-1-1
- 5-3-2 WB
Direct Counter-Attack
The crucial difference between this and the former style is the strategy with which your first XI counters. Here the attacking passing is more direct and structured, which is something your players will need to know inside out from training.
Suggested formations:
- 4-4-2
- 4-1-4-1 DM Wide
- 4-4-1-1
Catenaccio
The Catenaccio style relies on an airtight defence to frustrate enemy attacks. Your team will need to move as a solid, impregnable unit, so your side will have to boast strong communication and defensive skill. Catenaccio translates as ‘door-bolt’ from the Italian, which gives you a pretty good idea of what this tactical style is all about.
Suggested formations:
- 5-3-2 WB
- 5-1-2-2 DM WB
- 5-4-1 WB Wide
Park The Bus
Used often as a pejorative term, Parking the Bus is the philosophy of the footballing philistine; it’s for teams that are well aware their chances of victory are slim. With a backline so far back it'll look like a wall for the opposition, your players will be looking to waste time at any opportunity, slow the pace of the game to a standstill, and disrupt the opposition’s flow.
Suggested formations:
- 4-4-2
- 4-1-4-1 DM
- 4-2-3-1 DM
