I have to admit that I haven’t played FM26 as much as I have with previous editions of the game. One of the main reasons for the lack of playing time on FM26 is the initial dislike of the UI. However, the biggest reason is just a lack of time due to other work and coaching.
However, I finally had some free time yesterday afternoon and decided to use it to play FM26. I looked up some tactics for tactic testing, but I couldn’t find one that I felt fit the Everton squad.
Accidentally made a decent tactic of my own
I must admit I haven’t made many tactics of my own in recent years. However, I thought I would give it a go for FM26 that fitted the Everton squad. The Toffees squad is slightly unbalanced, as it doesn’t have great full-backs, despite the position needing to be strengthened for so long.
However, suddenly, the club has an abundance of players who can play as an attacking midfielder or out wide. Toffees boss David Moyes has found a good balance in recent matches in real life, with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall going into a deeper role in midfield due to suspensions to Idrissa ‘Gana’ Gueye and Tim Iroegbunam.
In my version, I feel like even more of those attacking midfielders are utilised, as shown by the players’ assist and goal tallies, which we will get to later in the article.
What is the tactic?
The formation was based on the default 3-2-4-1. I was hoping to use a 4-2-3-1 as my foundation to make a 4-1-4-1, and adapt it. Unfortunately, you can’t move the players around in tactics. Instead, you have to use the default formations, which is slightly frustrating.
The 3-2-4-1 actually suited the players as well, as it negated the need for full-backs, which, as previously mentioned, was useful. I didn’t do anything special with the formation, but it seemed like I didn’t need to in the end.
The formation is pretty simple. It consists of a goalkeeper, three centre-backs, two defensive midfielders, two wingers, with two attacking midfielders sandwiched in between and a centre forward as the focal point of the attack.
The style of play we used was the Gegenpress, which is one of my favourite styles on FM. The mentality was positive, as for me, it strikes the right balance between attack and defence.
Was the tactic successful?
The team were predicted to finish mid-table. However, it did far better than that, finishing fourth-place in the table and claiming a Champions League spot.
The main strength of the tactic was going forward, as only champions Liverpool could better the team’s Premier League goal tally of 82. As you would expect, though, with an attacking tactic, it wasn’t at its best when it came to conceding goals.
In fact, the team had the league’s worst defensive record among teams that finished in the top eight, having conceded 52 goals.
One other thing that stood out was that the team produced a strong finish to the league campaign, winning four and losing just one of their final five games.
The team also made it to the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup, but were defeated by Tottenham. However, a third-round exit to Swansea City in the FA Cup was disappointing.
Brought the best out of the attacking players
Unsurprisingly, this tactic brought out the best in the attacking players. The star player in terms of goals and assists was striker Thierry Barry, who scored 31 goals and recorded seven assists. He was the third-top goalscorer in the Premier League. The French forward scored a team-high average season rating of 7.42.
The goals were spread around, with Beto bagging 12 goals, while Jack Grealish scored ten times in the Premier League. Iliman Ndiaye and Carlos Alvarez also scored nine goals apiece.
Young winger Tyler Dibling may have had an underwhelming start to life at Everton in real life. However, this tactic got the best out of the former Southampton star in terms of assists, as he produced 18 and 17 in the league, which was the second-highest tally in the Premier League. Dibling also produced the second-highest average season rating of 7.32.
As well as his ten goals, Jack Grealish also produced 12 assists, while Dwight McNeil also picked up ten assists, while Carlos Alcaraz produced just one fewer assist.
Would I use this tactic again?
I am more accustomed to testing other people’s tactics and giving my opinion on them. This has been a slightly different article for me to write. Looking at the results with this tactic, I would probably use it again on my Everton save.
In fact, I may even carry on the save and see how the tactic does in the long-term, as it was successful in the short-term.
Would you use our tactic on FM26?
