Attacking transitions are a core element of most styles of play but particularly counter-attacking football. Arguably, any successful tactic needs to have potent, well-thought-out attacking transitions.
Every manager wants to have the best players at their disposal. However, it’s not always possible. Whether you’re taking charge of your local lower league side or managing in an exotic location where you are unable to draw in the world’s top talents, you’ll have to make the best of the players in your squad and the signings you can make. That’s not always an easy task; players in lower reputation leagues haven’t always got the most complete skillsets and require careful managing to succeed.
In two previous pieces, we touched upon the attacking and defensive insights you can take from Football Manager 2022’s brand-new Data Hub.
As Football Manager players, we usually put a lot of thought into our tactical approach. Not just the formation, player roles and instructions, but also how and when to press the opponent (enhanced by FM22’s overhauled pressing system), if we should pass short or long and if certain roles should principally Defend, Support or Attack. It’s a beautiful thing when you are winning but it can be a nightmarish puzzle to solve when results aren’t going your way.
The rapid rise in popularity of analytics in football is now reflected in-game through a variety of useful visualisations in the Hub. You can maximise this feature to give you deeper insight into how your team are playing in every phase of play and part of the pitch. This insight can help you not only identify gaps in your team’s performances, but subsequently identify who might be a good transfer target to come in and fill those gaps in your squad.
Visit The Byline on The Football Manager Website to see the third part of FM Stag's series, where he explores how you can leverage the Data Hub to identify appropriate scouting targets from within your division to address potential tactical problems.
Mid-Season Tactical Adjustments: Overhauling
Imagine the following scenario. You’ve started a new FM22 career. During pre-season things went well, and now you’re looking to build on that for the season ahead. You’ve got to know the players, you know who you can count on and who needs a bit of help, you made your new signings, you’ve worked to get them settled and… it all starts going terribly wrong. Results are bad, but that’s not the worst part. The problem is you’re playing horribly; you can hardly keep goals out and your players seem to have lost all their footballing ability. At this rate, you’re going to get the sack rather than any Manager of the Month awards.
Sound familiar? I’m sure it does because we’ve all been there. Worry not, for help is at hand. You’re probably in need of a tactical overhaul. Visit The Byline on The Football Manager Website to see how it's done by Rock’s End FM.
Football Manager 2022: Play It For Free, Right Now
Football Manager 2022 is now fully playable for free on a variety of platforms.
From now until 6:00pm (BST) on Monday, April 11th, PC/Mac players can enjoy the game at no cost through either Steam or the Epic Games Store. Subscribers to Microsoft’s Xbox Live Gold service can also enjoy free access to Football Manager 2022 Xbox Edition until 08:59am (BST) on the same day.
If you already have a Steam, Epic or Xbox account, getting access to the game is simple. When you head to the FM22 page in the respective store, you’ll see that instead of saying ‘Buy Now’, it says ‘Get for Free’ or ‘Play For Free’. Clicking on the button places the game in your library where it will remain fully playable until the free play period ends.
If you don’t already have an account on any of those platforms, getting set up is straightforward. Head to your store of choice and follow the instructions to install the relevant game launcher. Once you’ve registered for a free account, the process to access FM22 for free is the same as above.
Xbox Live Gold subscribers should go to the ‘Games With Gold’ page where they will find further details on how to access FM22 Xbox.
This free access is only available until the weekend promotion has expired. After this, you can continue your journey by purchasing at any time as your career progress will be saved in either your machine or the Cloud. Should you buy the full game before April 21st, you’ll get 33% off the regular price of FM22.
Get 33% off Football Manager 2022 Now Across All Platforms
It’s not too late to write your football story. Grab the perfect companion for the end of season run-in with Football Manager 2022 now up to 33% off across all platforms.
The sale period runs until 7pm BST on Thursday, 21st April, although exact timings vary by territory and platform*.
For those of you looking to get a taster of what FM22 is all about, the PC/Mac edition of the game is free to play on both Steam and the Epic Game Store until April 11th, while FM22 Xbox is also available for free to Xbox Live Gold Edition subscribers during the same time frame.
To learn more about our titles and work out which is best for you, head over to our Compare Games page.
*The sale period for FM22 (Microsoft Store) and FM22 Xbox ends at 9pm BST on April 22nd. For FM22 Touch (Switch™) it ends at 11:59pm on April 21st in the EU region, 07:59am BST on April 21st in the US region and at 03:59pm BST on April 20th in the Japan region.
Football Manager 2022 Minor Update 22.4.1 Out Now!
We’ve just released Minor Update 22.4.1 for Football Manager 2022 which is now available to download via Steam, Epic and Windows Store.
These updates should download automatically and are save game compatible. If yours does not, quit and relaunch Steam or the Epic Games Store to prompt it to do so. If you’re playing via the Windows Store, you may need to manually search for the update – more information is available here.
Minor Update 22.4.1 (includes but not limited to): - Addressed an issue related to add/remove leagues not working correctly - Fix to reinstate ability to search for players by all available nationalities - Fix for newly added text not appearing translated correctly in some languages
Mid-Season Tinkering For Success
We’ve all faced that moment in a Football Manager career when it seems that everything is against you. If you’ve tried all you can think of and there still seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel, you might need to make some tactical adjustments. It’s never too late to salvage the remainder of your season. Visit The Byline on The Football Manager Website to see how Rock’s End FM deals with mid-season tactical adjustment.
FM22 Final Winter Update Now Live
The Final Winter Update for Football Manager 2022 is now available for PC/Mac, Xbox and Switch. This update includes activity from those transfer windows which closed during February, along with database updates and a few further gameplay fixes. There are also a number of gameplay adjustments designed specifically to address the upheaval caused by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine on February 24th.
Studio Director Miles Jacobson delivered a detailed explanation of the changes we’ve made and the rationale behind them in a recent blog.
The update will follow at a later date for FM22 Mobile (iOS/Android).
The update also contains fixes and improvements across multiple game areas. All gameplay adjustments will take effect in ongoing careers, while data and rule changes will not be implemented until a new career is started.
Changes in the 22.4 update include (but are not limited to): - Competition updates, including 2022 promotion/relegation updates for numerous leagues outside of the standard European calendar - Stability and crash fixes - Network connectivity improvements for online modes - A fix which allows users to change their manager profile picture - Tweaks for AI loan offers, reducing the likelihood of offers with no financial contributions - Multiple gameplay changes to reflect the current geopolitical situation.
A more detailed changelist is available on our community forums.
These updates should download automatically. If yours does not, quit and relaunch Steam or the Epic Games Store to prompt it to do so. If you’re playing via the Windows Store or Game Pass, you may need to manually search for the update – more information is available here.
Using Your Staff For Recruitment In FM22
The way you assign responsibilities to your staff can change the way you play Football Manager. Giving over more control to your Director of Football not only adds more realism to your game but also helps you get the best from your squad. Visit The Byline on The Football Manager Website to see Dan Gear explains how it’s done.
