With the 4-2-3-1 arguably the most common formation both in the real world and on Football Manager, how to deploy the two central-midfield players is naturally a concern that needs addressing by all managers who chose to adopt this shape. The bog-standard double-pivot pairing is frequently the weapon of choice for a team playing this way, with the two MCs alternating between attacking and defending duties; one attacks, the other stays back, then the latter goes forward while the former defends.
In previous years the double-pivot has been relatively easy to recreate in FM (although not strictly how it would be performed in real life): by simply setting one central midfielder an attacking role/duty and the other a defensive role/duty, and instructing them to 'swap positions' every 10 minutes. This year, however, the 'swap positions' instruction has vanished, and I have personally found myself in a bit of a muddle regarding how to set up this kind of partnership.
At the moment, I have one MC set to CM-Defend and the other set as B2B, and I am manually switching their positions periodically throughout the game. This is not ideal, and I am wondering if simply playing two B2B midfielders would be more worthwhile - match engine permitting. Ideally, my two central midfielders (and they are top class players) should be intelligent enough to cover for one another and naturally alternate their attacking and defensive contributions, but my experience of the FM match engine tells me that this may not be the case, and that I am likely to see them both marauding forward or sitting deep inappropriately.
Can anyone quell my fears and confirm that playing two B2B MCs could be a safe option? Or does anyone have any alternative ways of creating a double-pivot midfield pairing?
And for anyone wondering, the reason I so desperately want to recreate this style is because it a) keeps the oppositions players on their toes, and partially negates any man marking strategies, and b) sees both of my midfield players claim a share of the attacking spoils, meaning not too much emphasis is placed on one player and c) maintains the MCs in a steady condition, rather than having one exhausted by the end of each game. Many thanks in advance for any contributions!
In previous years the double-pivot has been relatively easy to recreate in FM (although not strictly how it would be performed in real life): by simply setting one central midfielder an attacking role/duty and the other a defensive role/duty, and instructing them to 'swap positions' every 10 minutes. This year, however, the 'swap positions' instruction has vanished, and I have personally found myself in a bit of a muddle regarding how to set up this kind of partnership.
At the moment, I have one MC set to CM-Defend and the other set as B2B, and I am manually switching their positions periodically throughout the game. This is not ideal, and I am wondering if simply playing two B2B midfielders would be more worthwhile - match engine permitting. Ideally, my two central midfielders (and they are top class players) should be intelligent enough to cover for one another and naturally alternate their attacking and defensive contributions, but my experience of the FM match engine tells me that this may not be the case, and that I am likely to see them both marauding forward or sitting deep inappropriately.
Can anyone quell my fears and confirm that playing two B2B MCs could be a safe option? Or does anyone have any alternative ways of creating a double-pivot midfield pairing?
And for anyone wondering, the reason I so desperately want to recreate this style is because it a) keeps the oppositions players on their toes, and partially negates any man marking strategies, and b) sees both of my midfield players claim a share of the attacking spoils, meaning not too much emphasis is placed on one player and c) maintains the MCs in a steady condition, rather than having one exhausted by the end of each game. Many thanks in advance for any contributions!