How I Approach FM: Tactical Frameworks & Squad Building

Squad building

“Know your enemy and know yourself and you can fight a hundred battles without disaster”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

More Sun Tzu. I feel like an intellectual by adding these quotes, but honestly so many of the things I read have resonated with me (I will quote more before I am through). It helps in Total War games too! In this case, I am interested in knowing myself again. In particular, knowing my squad.

There are two aspects to deal with here. Knowing the players you have, and knowing the players you want. Both are important to building a team (not just a tactic here).

Since I am writing this based on my current save, it is difficult to show precise examples for knowing the squad you start with, because I have had 2.5 seasons at my current side to mould them how I want. So I will start with knowing the players I want.

How players fit into my squad.

Previously I have written in detail about what I want the players to do. Now I need to ensure they can actually do these things. This means selecting the correct players in the correct positions.

Not every player will be able to do what you are looking for, and for that reason the first few transfer windows at a club are all about buying players to fit by squad. I will discuss transfer targets, and management of the squad later.

Here, I focus on understand what attributes I want from my players. I will take what I want them to do, and translate it into what attributes they need to have.

The things I look for in all players.

Before I dive into position specific traits I look for, there are some things I want in all my players.
Determination, teamwork, and work rate.

I want a hard working and determined squad, because in my head these attributes will create a resilient side who will always give their best, and will not get too dispirited if they fall behind.

I am not interested in players with determination below 13 (for top levels, this can scale with the league you play in and I am to be in the top 3 for determination in the league). Any player below 13 determination is not interesting to me, unless they are spectacular. Likewise, I usually aim for over 15.

This is all because I want my players to care, to fight, to not give up. I think (although never tested) that if you have a bunch of players identical in all attributes except the one has 15 for determination and the other 5, the group with 15 would be more successful.

For teamwork and work rate, it boils down to similar things. I want players to work as part of a whole that can be greater than the sum of its parts. Equally, I am asking a lot for many players in the tactic I described, so they will need to be able to work hard.

I am less stringent about players below 13 in these attributes, but again I would avoid them if I can.

Position specific things.

Let’s start with the easiest positions. The goalkeeper and central defenders. I just need them to be as good as possible. My ‘keeper needs to be able to save shots (which my aggressive stance will likely give the opposition not infrequently). There is nothing special here.

The central defenders likewise. They need to have the best possible attributes for defenders. Since I am playing from the back, it will help if they have composure and are not terrible at passing. I do not want them to panic and give the ball away under pressure.

Since I am playing with a high line, a bit of pace will not hurt. I am not really bothered about PPMs for these guys. Just be aware of them, so you know what to expect from a player.

Here are my current first team goalkeeper and defenders (Maguire and Schmeichel were already at the club).







We can stick with the defence, and look at fullbacks. They need to be good all round fullbacks. Stamina is very useful, because I want them shuttling up and down the flanks all game. They also need to be able to cross pretty well, because I am going to be asking them to cross the ball.

The better they can cross, the more dangerous they will be. It goes without saying that decent defensive stats will always be useful for a defender.

In addition, decent passing (they need to be able to link with the wide player in front of them and the midfield to recycle the ball due to “work ball into box”) and vision (spot a possible ball to play to split a defence) is good.

This covers pretty much any full back in the game, so there is not much special here. Here are the players I am currently using. They were both at the club when I took over, and I have not seen the need to replace them (and we have good rotation options too).





I will move on to the striker now. Mostly because it is again quite simple. I am looking for an archetypal DLF, or CF to play here. The attributes that go with that are obviously important.

In addition, I find the PPMs “plays with back to goal” and “comes deep to get ball” are quite useful, given the description of how I will use the striker to create chances for others. He must be a creator as much as a finisher. As such, passing and vision are also very good attributes to have.

For this reason, you could even convert an AMC to this role, if he is strong enough to hold the ball. He is almost like an advanced playmaker.

The current player I have here actually does not fit this mould…yet. He was someone my scouts found who looks to have incredible potential (and he was on a free). So I am playing the long game with him and hoping he gets better.

His PPMs are perfectly suited to what I said above, but his passing and vision are not really good enough yet. Note I also broke my rule on teamwork for this guy.

An important note, you can break your own guidelines if you think the player is worth it. Worst case scenario here is I sell him for a huge profit at some point.



The two wide players are next. Here we have to pay attention first to footedness. When I took over Leicester, their wide players were all right footed. So I will stick with that. It make sense for how I play. A right footed player cuts in from the left and a right footed player crosses from the right.

This means I am simply not interested in left footed wingers right now, unless they can use both feet well. Another thing to pay attention to.

There is again nothing too special here, I am using these roles as the game describes them. So I use the game as a guide for what is good for each role. I like my IF to have good anticipation, dribbling, pace, vision, passing and finishing. A good long shot doesn’t hurt either.

PPM wise cuts in from the left is useful to have. And Flair is lovely. Never underestimate how good it can be to have a player do something unexpected. This is my IF, who I signed in my first full season specifically to play in this role.

He is my leading scorer in my current season, with 19 goals (which means my ideas are working, by the way!).



The same goes for the winger, I use the game as a guide. Pace, dribbling, crossing, are important. Again, Flair is nice to have. There is not really that much to say about picking a good winger that people do not already know or is not already in the game.

The player I have here was signed in my first full season too, and has turned out to be a steal. He is not an ideal player (and I have a youngster I am grooming who I will talk about later to take over), but he has been spectacular at times.

One thing I do want to point out is that his combination of flair and long shots lead to some of the most insanely wonderful goals where he cuts in off the right after some sublime bit of skill.

Do not underestimate how nice it can be to have a player do something unexpected. He is also two footed, which is always nice.



So, we now get to the really interesting part for me. My midfield. The midfield is utterly critical to everything I do, and I do not always want to stick to the default attributes the game says are important here.

Firstly, I would prefer all my midfielders to be decent tacklers. Or at worse not absolutely awful in defence. I need them to be able to break up play, and all of them to be good at this. I do not have room for luxury players in my squad – I would not play an Ozil type player, for example.

Let’s now look at each position one by one and see where I depart from standard ideas of attributes.

The DMC is probably the most important but least appreciated (definitely by rating) members of my squad. He has to be a dual function player. Firstly, he is there to shield the defence, break up counters, make tackles, etc. So he need to be a good DM(S) or DM(D).

Secondly, he is my pivot. I use him to move attacks from left to right, and act as someone who is always free for a pass, and then to give it on to someone else. He does not need to do fancy things, but he needs to also act like an auxiliary DLP. So he needs to be a really good all round player.

You can get away with a regular DM, but the dynamism of the tactic is aided so much by having a versatile player.

Here is the guy I play. Another new signing specifically bought for this role. He even has the “tries killer balls” PPM, which will make him act like a play maker more often. He is exactly what I want.



The DLP in midfield is kinda the opposite to the DMC. I want him to be primarily a playmaker who can also defend very well. I basically want the same player as I have for the DMC role, but I put more weight on passing, vision, etc. when picking this player.

I want the DLP and DM to basically be interchangeable. This is again critical to making my midfield work. I have selected a DM(S) and DLP(S), but they are performing very similar roles in my tactic.

Again, I could playmaker here who is not good at defending, but I feel my team would suffer defensively. I was lucky enough to take over Leicester not long after they had bought Tonali, so I had a readymade player in this position.



Finally, the CM(A). He is my favourite player actually. Think about what I want him to do. He needs to act like a SS sometimes (get beyond the striker and score), an AP other times (get the ball in the AM strata and create chances for others. He needs to be able to press. He needs to be able to defend.

I am asking a huge amount from this player. There are not many players who will be able to do all this, so you may have to prioritize. I usually make defending less important as he is the most advanced of the midfield, and his main job is to create and score.

So what attributes do I want? Well, to start he needs good finishing, off the ball, passing, vision, decisions, first touch. Which is probably not even an exhaustive list. The PPM “gets forward whenever possible” is great here. So is “plays one-twos” which encourages nice interactions with the striker.

These players are hard to come by. I actually tend to try to convert AMCs or even strikers to this role. I also prioritize scoring over creating over defending when looking at attributes.

I used Maddison in this role (already at the club), or Hojbjerg (who was signed for pittance from Southampton because they did not think he was good enough). Again, you can see how his attributes fit the mould of the player I need perfectly.



There you are. I am not sure this will be as clear, because I have gotten very good at unconsciously picking players after doing it for several years. This means it can be difficult to articulate exactly what I look for.

The point I want to get across is that you have to think about what the players need to do in your tactic. Not just what attributes the roles you select require. For me, this is most important in the midfield, where I want to have lots of versatility.

Next, I want to expand on how I manage my squad. This will move away from the tactical side of things to discuss how to build for long term success (hopefully) and stability.

“Treat your men as you would your own beloved sons. And they will follow you into the deepest valley.”
― Sun Tzu, The Art of War

More Sun Tzu. This one is slightly over dramatic I think, but it serves my purpose. In this segment I'm going to deal with how I handle my players, and in particular their contracts, and how/when I will make transfer offers.

This deals with several issues I see cropping up on the board time and again. Unhappy players. Low transfer offers. Unable to sign the players you want. I will try to show you how I attempt to avoid each of these pitfalls.

A word of warning. This is text heavy, picture light.

All of this eventually comes back to my philosophy as well. I want to build a well-run club. I want them to be able to continue their success for some time after I am gone (until an AI manager dismantles everything I created).

I want every player to improve while at my club. To leave a better player. This is as fundamental to me as how I play football games. FM is a total package for me. I want to win matches, and I want to be at a well-run club.

The two go hand-in-hand. I also want to make sure I always have the players available to me to achieve what I want. Let’s start with this, then. There is little point talking about my players until I tell you who these players should be.

Building my first team.

Squad building is one of the fundamental things in FM you should master.

That does not just mean buying the very best players – although that is a part of it. It is about having the right players. The right number of players in each position. With the correct expectation of their playing time.

So first I will talk about the composition of my squad.

Goalkeepers.
I will typically keep a single first choice ‘keeper who plays the majority of my games. The only time I rotate the goalkeeper is when I am in a transition season between an old first choice and a new, young player coming through.
I also have one back up. This can be either a regular backup ‘keeper, who can be as good or crap as you like. I prefer to have a younger player though, who I can groom to replace a current player in the future.

Right/Left backs.
I want 4 players in these positions. Each needs to follow the rules I gave in the last post. Since my full backs get through an awful lot of work, I do rotate here. That means I really need to have 4 players who are able to start at any given game.
You can of course have a first choice, but the backup needs to be good.

Center backs.
I do not rotate CBs more than I have to due to fatigue or injury. I like a solid partnership to develop. I am old-fashioned that way. So I will always have to first choice CBs who play most games.
The backup here will have to be good enough to step in when required, but he can be a bit worse than the main players. The better he is, the more he will have to play (this is a general rule to remember) to stay happy.
I also typically have one younger CB who can play the odd game. If he is good enough, he can move to number 3 CB over time.

Striker.
Sorry, orderly progression of positions disrupted. As always, my central midfield is the most complex area of my team. I play with a single striker, so I will typically have two main strikers. One may be first choice, or you can freely rotate them. Depends on the players I have.
I also keep a young backup incase of an injury crisis and to get some experience. If he impresses, he can move up in the rankings.

Wide players.
This is like fullbacks but with an extra caveat. They have to be all right (or left, it does not matter so long as they are all the same) footed, or very good with both feet. I rotate these positions a lot, because they also get through a lot of work. So all should be able to start.

Midfield.
Well, I discussed previously how my midfielders need to be somewhat interchangeable. I have 3 midfield slots, and typically have 6 players who can play there. These players will also see a fair bit of rotation (they get tired a lot), so I need 6 good players, but you can sneak by with 5.
Typically the backup for DM will also be able to be a backup for the DLP. The backup for CM(A) can likely also play as a DLP (if you are lucky). So I can rotate 2/3 players in all situations. You can always have a like-for-like replacement too.

So how many players do I have in my first team?

I have mentioned 23 players, including the younger players. This gives me a lot of wiggle room to include additional players, or deal with home grown registration issues. I honestly do not think you need much more than 23 players in a first team squad.

Player priority and the 18 month rule.

How do I go about managing this squad of players?

For me, there are 4 different types of players. Key players, rotation options, emergency backups, and youngsters. I treat each of these very differently, as you will see.

What is the 18 month rule I mention here?

This is my own personal rule for handling contracts and transfers. I do everything on a sliding 18 month basis. What that means is I know exactly what I expect my squad to look like in a year and half. Always.

I plan my contracts around this, I plan my scouting around this, my shortlists, my transfer offers. I will explain how I apply this to my players.

Key players are exactly what they sound like. They are the best players in my team, who will start most matches and who I really do not want to lose. Aside from playing a lot, and being great, they get long contracts. As long as possible. I want them at my club long term.

So get them tied down, and keep them tied down. I try to keep them on contracts of at least 3 years. This makes them a lot more expensive to buy, so either you get no offers, or very big ones. It also means if a player gets unsettled, you never have to worry about them running out of contract.

Only when they start to approach the end of the careers to I keep these players on shorter contracts.

Rotation players are again exactly what they sound like. They are the players who are not first choice, but can do a job. These guys are fluid. There are a bunch of rotation options at every level.

So you can almost certainly replace these guys. If you think you cannot, they are key players already. Treat them like it. Contractually, this means I will assess them every 6 months to see if I want them in my next 18 month plan.

Can I get someone better? Has a youngster taken their place? I rarely have them on contracts longer than 3 years. I want to be able to get rid of them easily when the time comes. Bids for these players are always negotiable and a fair price is always accepted.

Backup players are for emergency cover, for mentoring, or for influence. I am loyal when I play, so older club legends usually end up here. They do not get to play a lot unless there is an injury crisis.

They are never on contracts longer than 2 years, because if I want to get rid of them I can do so easier. Transfer offers will almost always be accepted for these guys.

Youngsters are again obvious. You can break it down further into players who may one day play for the first team, and players who will not. Players who I think can play for the first team will get long contracts and first team exposure as much as possible.

Players who will not get short contracts that end when they are between 18 and 20. At that point, we release them to the wider world and wish them the best. If I am really not sure, I will offer players short contract extensions.

---

There are two things to take away from this.

The first is that you should plan for how your team will look at some point in the future. For me it is 18 months. Plan your contracts around this. Offer them ahead of time for players you really want to keep.

Do not have backups on long contracts so you cannot ditch them easily. There is a whole element to planning transfers around this too, but this post will already be long, so I will save that for another time.

The second thing to take away is that if your player does not fit into this scheme, you do not need them. If you have a player who is good enough to be a first team player, but you want to use him as a backup, sell them. If you have a rotation option you do not trust to play, sell them.

I will try to make all my players better footballers, but they have to give something back in return. I think a lot of people have problems with happiness because they do not follow this rule of thumb. I very rarely get issues with player unhappiness.

I think that properly assembling a squad is absolutely critical to success though. As much as designing a tactic is.

How I deal with the summer and winter windows.

I do not think Sun Tzu had to deal with football transfers in his life, so I do not really have a clever quote for this one. That is okay though, because transfers are a direct extension of my squad management. They are intimately linked.

I keep to my 18 month rule, and I go into every transfer window knowing exactly what I need.

Summer transfer windows are where I try to sign all the players I need to keep the squad balance the way I want it. All my main signings are done in this window. It gives me preseason to bed them in as well.

In the winter transfer window, I will either sign nobody, or I will keep my eye open for young players who I can bring in. The only exception is when the first window you have at a club is the winter window. They I will try to fix the squad the best I can.

Knowing exactly what I need to do in a transfer window.



Here is a picture of my current first team squad (conveniently with ratings from the last season). By the way, I love how almost every single first team player has an assist or a goal in the previous season. This gives you an immediate idea of how I trust my squad to play.

Of the players I know I will keep, only Murillo and Josias have less than 10 games started. Murillo is a young prospect in a competitive midfield, so his games were all about experience. Josias arrived in January so only had half a season, and needed to be settled into the squad. He is also a young prospect who will eventually inherit the right wing.

You will notice I have highlighted some players. Those in red are players I know will be leaving. Evans and Vardy are retiring. Benkovic is unhappy with his playing time, and his contract is expiring. I do not need him, so he can leave. Actually, he was in my plans, but last summer Stones was available for 17.5 million, and this was too good a chance to pass up. More on that later.

These are players I will need to replace. I definitely need to sign a backup defender. A young striker would also be nice. Finally, Bereszcnski and Doherty are approaching 30, so if I can find a young right back good enough to play, I will look to bring him in and possibly sell one of these players.

The players in orange are those who either will be phased out this season, or who I really can afford to lose. Schmeichel is 35 now, and probably does not have that much time left. I have a really capable backup (Garcia) who will be transitioned into the first team this season.

This is part of the 18 month plan. Pearson just is not as good as the other players in my team. I keep him because he is English, and helps with registration rules. However, as I will discuss later, I have a midfield pileup problem incoming, so he probably needs to move on.

So my transfer window is very simple. I know exactly what I need going in. I will not be scrambling around at the end looking for players. I plan to get the main business done early.

Identifying Players. Using the shortlist.

I typically operate two shortlists. One is the general shortlist. Here players I am interested in from scout reports get added. They are not necessarily immediate targets, but they are players to keep an eye on for the future.

I curate this list a few times a year to weed out players who I probably am not going to sign ever (either they moved to a big club, got too good for me, did not develop well). Here is a snapshot of this list right now. I have several positions covered, so I always have targets.



The second shortlist is my transfer window shortlist. This is for the players I am seriously considering signing in the current window. This allows me to focus myself on those players. I will typically add way more players than I will sign, to keep my options open.



Here is my current shortlist. There is actually a player missing who I did sign. You can see it has CBs, DR and a striker. On this list I do not expect to be able to sign the two players from Real Madrid. They are wonderful young players. I put them here just to test the waters about a possible move.

The RBs are also not really urgent yet. I will test the waters here, see what I can do. Carson is a player I have had my eyes on for two years now. Watford were relegated, so I am going to try to unsettle him to see if I can get his as a replacement to Vardy.

Using the transfer list.

While I like to plan ahead, you cannot always do this. I will always keep a close eye on the transfer list. You never know who will be listed. As I mentioned above, last season when John Stones was listed, I was not looking for a CB. It was such a good deal though (17.5 million for an international defender who is home grown in nation) that I snapped him up immediately.

Do not be afraid to change you plans and sign a player who is too good to turn down. Even if it messes with the long term plan, signing Stones was absolutely the correct thing to do.

Picking the CB to sign.

Since I just did this, I can show you an example. I had two players I was keeping my eye on for CB as a backup. One is Mepham, who played for Watford and is listed after relegation. He is young, an international, and has decent stats.



The over id Hoedt (who you can see I signed). He was a player I looked at last season too, but decided against buying because I did not need him. He moved to Liverpool, never played, and was listed by them. He is slightly older, but again has excellent stats to be a solid backup or rotation option in my defence.



Why did I end up choosing Hoedt? It was actually mostly a wage issue. I made offers for both, and decided to see who I preferred. Mepham wanted 92k per week, which is too much for a backup player who will start 4th choice on the depth chart.

Hoedt I could sign on 51k, and managed to get Liverpool to pay 10k wages too. He was also much cheaper (10 million versus 22 million). Simple thought process again. I did this right at the start of the window. My defence is optimal again.

The midfield crisis of the future.

Just to show you that even the best planning can go awry, I will soon have an issue in my midfield. I currently have 7 players in my midfield. Which is already one more than optimal, although Pearson is entirely a backup. The problem comes in the form of another player I signed last season.



This kid is awesome. He will be perfect for the CM(A). I signed him for 2.3 million from Sheffield United, and loaned him back for the season. I did this partly because they forced it on me, and partly because he needed significant playing time.

He is back from loan, which makes 8 midfielders. Too many. However, I am happy with my midfield, and there is nobody I immediately would cut from the first team picture. I could loan this guy out again, but he is good enough to start games for me this year.

As a hot prospect, I can get away with it this season, but if he gets better I will have to decide how I am going to rebalance my squad. I have not decided how I will deal with this. I fear Hojbjerg may lose out.

Unsettling players to make them easier to sign.

This is something I will touch upon, because I see many threads where people are irritated by the AI doing this, but do not try to do it themselves. You want to sign a player but the club is not interesting in selling? What do you do? I have this situation with Carson.



Great young English striker. Perfect as a replacement for Vardy. Especially the English part, as you will see my side has a South American flavour at the moment, and eventually I will hit registration problems. Watford do not want to sell, and right now he does not want to leave.

What I do is make sure to declare interest, to scout the player often, and to make a crappy transfer bid that I know will be rejected. All of these are to try to force the “player wants to leave” conversation.

Unsettle him, making him unhappy, make him ask to leave, and bam. The player is available and may be cheaper.

The AI does this all the time to your players. You should also do it to them. It does not always work, I have to say. I did not have success with Carson yet. It is not urgent, however, because I have backup for the striker position anyway. I will keep working on him until I can turn his head. Or find another signing.

---

This is not really a ground breaking here. It is common sense, and I guess most people do similar things to this. The main point is that this is fundamentally linked to squad management.

You should always go into a transfer window with a plan. Know what you team needs, and know which players you want to bring in. However, do not be afraid to jump on a player you see listed if they are too good to turn down. No point missing out because you were too rigid.

I am going to get back to the tactical side of things next. I want to look at how I prepare for games against the AI? Scouting them, preparing for them, changing things to counter them. The mystical stuff that can be so baffling. Let’s see if I can explain that simply too.