How to create a successful tactic on Football Manager

Team chemistry

Written by Justice

Team chemistry is how your whole squad works as a unit. It is how well they get on with each other, if their playing styles match, if their personalities match, the list goes on. A team with a good team chemistry will play better, more unified football than a team with poor chemistry. A good team chemistry is the key to success, and a very valuable key too.

Ultimately, team chemistry will come to play on the pitch, and that is where you get your results. On the pitch is where player styles come in to the fold. You want to have players who suit your system and can play in a similar mind-frame with their team mates. For example, you are not going to use a 6'8'' un-technical brute in a team full of ground-pass merchants, that would be illogical. You want players in your team who know how to play with each other, who can see how your moves will develop and link up with team mates well. If you can get a squad of players who can play well together and in your system, you can succeed.

It is important for your players to get along with each other. They are not just colleagues, they will depend on each other on the pitch, so they must be able to depend on each other off the pitch too. If you bring in players from a large variety of countries, they won't get on well together because of the language barrier. Equally, if you bring lazy players into a squad with determined, hard-working players, there are going to be clashes. Try to bring in players whose personalities match, that is how you can get an overall sense of togetherness, and better morale too!

One of the most underrated values that people often forget about is a player’s experience. Quality will win you games, but experience will win you trophies. If you have an extremely young squad, problems will arise. Sure, they may have the quality to win every game, but if they face a tough challenge, it will hit them hard mentally. It is much harder for an inexperienced player to pick themselves up after a bad run of form than it is for an experienced player. It is important to have some experience in your squad, this will help the young players in your team to excel, and it also gives you a reliable backbone for your team when the going gets tough.

One obvious challenge that you will face as a manager, and there is no escaping it, is when a key player is sold or retires and leaves a hole in your team. Do you try to replace this player with another who is like-for-like? That can be very difficult to do. For example, look at Gerrard, Lampard and Scholes, the last of a Golden Era of English midfielders, all of them as irreplaceable as the next. Instead of trying to replace that player, simply look for a player who can play in that position, is good enough for your team, fits your style, and will fit in well with your other players. If you can match these criteria, you do not need to worry about your lost player affecting your team chemistry.

Are there any other ways you can improve your team chemistry? Of course, there are plenty! Having experienced players tutor younger players is a very good way of doing this. Another good way is bringing your team for training camps where they can "bond" more as a team. You could also focus on bringing in players from a particular nation to avoid varying languages and cultures in your squad. Whatever way you can improve team chemistry, do it, because a good team chemistry brings good team play, and good team play wins you trophies!