Why 4-2-3-1 is my go-to formation on FM

March 4, 2025

As regular readers of Higher Tempo may know (yes, apparently, we have some!), since I began writing for the site, I have tested popular tactics and shared my thoughts on whether they are good, bad, or just ugly.

Like most FM players, I like the idea of weird and wonderful tactics and formations. Those formations where when you first see them, you go, ‘wow’ and wonder if it would actually work.

Unfortunately, most of the innovative formations and tactics flop like a jellyfish on a wet mattress, even if with the best players, they never seem to work.

Am I boring as my go-to tactic formation is 4-2-3-1?

Yes, guys, sorry, I am a boring 4-2-3-1 advocate. It’s not that I like the formation particularly. It’s more that it’s a formation that seems to get you good results consistently. If a team is struggling in another formation, then 4-2-3-1 is every player’s safety net.

If a team is on a bad run, returning to the formation can help the team arrest a poor run of results. Basically, what I am saying is that it is not exciting, but it is safe.

Usually, I am not overly pragmatic with my tactics. I like my team to play attacking, front-foot football both in real life (I am a football coach as well as a writer) and in FM. However, for some reason, I can’t seem to resist the lure of the safety of the formation.

I have heard it is a formation that can be played in virtually every league in every country. As I have not ventured too far beyond Everton in recent saves, I will have to take everybody’s word for it. It seems to be a universally popular formation.

Why is the 4-2-3-1 formation such a prevalent formation?

The 4-2-3-1 is so prevalent in real life and FM because it brings that magical thing, balance. We have all seen teams who sit back too deep and are highly uninspiring to watch.

They are nothing teams that are set up just not to be beaten. This is usually down to the coach being a major pragmatist. One recent example of a pragmatist in the Premier League was Sean Dyche when he was at Everton earlier this season.

The former Burnley boss did a decent job, and to be fair, he kept the Toffees in the Premier League for a few seasons. However, he seemed to send his teams out just to preserve a point rather than going out to win. Unfortunately for Dyche, he also didn’t have a Plan B, which can be vital in football at every level.

This pragmatism appeared to worsen during his final years as Everton boss. It is fair to say that the fans were not excited by his approach.

However, a real 4-2-3-1 can strike the perfect balance. A double-pivot covers the defence, so if the full-backs attack, the defensive midfielders are the backline’s safety guards.

In the formation, you basically have four attacking players, with the optional attacking full-back support. If you have the right attacking players, they can still score goals and win trophies. Are you not entertained?

Most of the trophies I have won in my recent personal saves have been won by using the 4-2-3-1 or a variety of the formation.

The perfect variation on the 4-2-3-1

In recent months, I have used a variation on the 4-2-3-1. However, it’s not much of a variation. It’s a 4-1-1-3-1, with the only variation being that one of the double-pivot becomes a regular central midfielder and plays a more advanced role.

The formation I have been using is the Undringstaktiken 4-1-1-3-1 by NuFcPRO, and it has been my favourite formation to use on FM24. I may not be a 4-2-3-1 fan after all; I may be a 4-1-1-3-1 fan instead.

The reason I loved this tactic is because I had a world-class central midfielder who couldn’t play as a defensive midfielder and couldn’t play as an attacking midfielder/number ten.

I needed to find a way to build my team around the player without having to retrain him for another position. This formation fitted the bill perfectly, and I didn’t seem to lose the strong balance between defence and attack, which was obviously vital.

Since finding the formation, it has been the one I have used for the majority of my games, except when I have experimented with other formations for a short time.

For me, it may not precisely be a 4-2-3-1, but it is the 4-2-3-1’s more sexy, slightly more exciting sister. The power of the formation has prevented me from going back to a straight 4-2-3-1.

The 4-1-1-3-1 has given me a glimpse of a slightly more attacking style than its parent formation. However, I will likely return to the 4-2-3-1 formation at some point in the future.

In fact, when the next edition of FM finally comes out, I can almost guarantee that I will start my first save using the 4-2-3-1. Like it or not, it is the most effective formation on FM.

Do you use the 4-2-3-1 formation on FM24? Or do you have another formation you can’t seem to move away from? Let us know via our socials.