The best tactics in FM 24 are now well known, and although its successor is looming ever closer on the horizon, there's still plenty of life left in the game.
Here, we look at the tactics that have worked ever since FM 24's launch in November, and which ones have emerged more recently thanks to a thriving online community.
Best Tactics in FM 24: Are previous FM tactics still usable?
Over the years, the tactics have evolved and become more complex. In order to get closer to real life, a lot of roles, instructions and even set pieces can now be integrated in your tactics. As you know, the tactics from previous games of the series can be used. In the past, the changes within the game would impact the efficiency of the existing tactics.
One of the most famous tactics created by a community member last year was the 424 ALHAMDULILLAH II. In order to test this tactic, the Youtuber FM DNA ran a season of Premier League using this tactic with three different clubs: Manchester City, West Ham & Bournemouth. In 2022, the three clubs scored 260 points in total vs 246 on FM24.
This test tells us that even though the game has changed, it is likely that some of the best tactics from FM23 can be very powerful on FM24, especially once all the new features regarding dynamic tactics & positional play are known.
On top of these new aspects, there are a few instructions that have been used massively by the community these last few games that are looking interesting at the moment. Two amongst them are particularly prominent:
Pass into space
This button empowers you to guide your players in executing more direct and penetrating passes, with the aim of exploiting available gaps in advance of your offensive players.
By selecting “Pass into Space,” you instill a more assertive and forward-looking passing approach in your team, particularly beneficial when you possess fast attackers who can seize these opportunities to their advantage.
High press & higher defensive line
The Gegenpress has been a popular go-to setup for a few years now. Using a High Press in order to block the first passes from your opponents and playing with a higher defensive line will allow you to have your players closer to each other.
Overpowered formations in Football Manager
A 96% win rate with 4-2-3-1
Yes, you read it right! A member of the Football Manager community named JoshDaly put up a tactic that allowed him to reach a 96% win rate. This, surely, is the very king of the best tactics in FM 24!
With wingbacks overlapping on both sides of the pitch, a defensive midfielder helped by a volante and a shadow striker behind his advanced forward, this manager has created a monster.
Short passing, high tempo, high pressing: an absolute nightmare for his opponents, resulting in some absolutely unreal statistics. Erling Haaland scored 80 goals during the test season he ran with Manchester City.
An interesting fact about this tactic is that the three men behind the advanced forward have all the instructions to Roam from position, which has proven to be very effective early in the game. These players are nearly impossible to mark.
‘Master of Puppets' 4-3-3
GYRFM is seen as one of the best managers in the FM community and his 4-3-3 Master of Puppets is always one of the most used tactics in the world.
4-3-3 is a classic formation in football, but let's get into what matters the most: team & players instructions.
This tactic is meant to be played with an attacking mentality, with short passes at a higher tempo. Even though there are two wingers in this formation, both of them are Inside Forwards and the team has the instruction to provide low crosses to the forward player. Overall, the objective is to take advantage of available spaces and players have the instruction to pass into space.
One aspect that is quite different from other tactics is the fact that GYRFM asks his players to tackle harder, resulting in a lot of yellow cards. Still, it has proven to be one of the best tactics in the community so far. Hood Gaming, a FM youtuber, tested this tactic with Crawley, the worst team in Sky Bet League Two, and he managed to clinch automatic promotion via second place.
See also: Best FM 24 wonderkids.
Dominate the Middle with 4-1-2-3
While this looks like a 4-3-3 in practice, this tactic is a great way to get your feet wet in Football Manager. It doesn’t rely on many gimmick positions or strange player orders, it just gets the job done.
For this tactic to work, you’ll need to have an attacking mentality and a few solid players to really make it pop. As is often the case with good tactics in FM24, we’ll be utilising our wings to get the best out of the tactic. Our two wingers, used as Inside Forwards are key to creating an overload and pressing the opposition defenders.
The midfield is where the tactic will win you games, however. Your DM is important to set the tone of your Best FM 24 wonderkidsattack, but your two central midfielders will help support the play through the middle.
Here is how the tactic looks with the roles and special instructions.
SK (D) – Tackle Harder
Wing Backs (S) – Cross Less Often – Shoot Less Often – Stay Wider – Tackle Harder
BPD (D) – Dribble More – Close Down Less
DM (S) – Tackle Harder – Mark Tighter
CM (S) – Get Further Forward – Tackle Harder
IF (A) – Sit Narrower – Tackle Harder – Roam
AF (A) – Shoot More Often – Tackle Harder
New Tactic 2 – Deploy the 4-2-3-1 “Death Star”
Originally a tactic by Delicious The Assembler, we’ve made a few personal changes over our time in FM24 and made the tactic even better.
The tactic varies from the 4-2-3-1 above by being more aggressive with how you attack the ball across the pitch. The tactic relies on your CBs being able to get the ball out of defence and either into midfield or your Wing Backs. With attacking width from defence, it allows our Inverted Wingers to cut inside and create an overload in attack. A key player in your attack is your Attacking Midfielder, set to attack he’ll work as an old-school number 10.
From our testing, signing a good DM is key here. Look for a DM that is either a natural at the role, or is a natural at playing as a Ball Winning Midfielder. An alternative is to take a strong CB and turn them into a DM.
GK (A) – Tackle Harder
WB (A) – Take More Risks – Dribble More – Run Wide With Ball – Shoot Less Often – Stay Wider – Tackle Harder
BPB (D) – Dribble More – Tackle Harder
DLP (S) – Take More Risks – Tackle Harder Wingers – Sit Narrower – Tackle Harder
DM (D) – Take More Risks – Tackle Harder Wingers – Sit Narrower – Tackle Harder
AM (A) – Move Into Channels – Tackle Harder
IW (S) – No instructions
ST – Tackle Harder
The ‘Death Star' formation in Football Manager 2025
While it's very early days, in the past few years any form of “4-2-3-1” or Gegenpressing (counter-pressing) formation has been dominant in Football Manager. Having played nearly 900 hours of FM24 at this point, “Death Star” has been my go-to formation for a reason. The formation also works at any level, with a few tweaks, of course.
As we move closer to Football Manager 2025, the “Death Star” is likely to continue to shine as it has in Football Manager 24. One key thing that is worth noting is that the Gegenpressing style has been overpowered for several years now. With Football Manager 2025 switching to a new game engine, this might have an impact on what is overpowered. That said, this formation works well because so many players in Football Manager play in similar roles in real life. Meaning that you have a wealth of talent to pick from. As mentioned above, the formation is also very versatile and can be tweaked to make it work for a number of different squads.
To be more specific, if you are playing in the lower leagues, you can change the keeper and CBs on “Keeper” and “No-nonsense” respectively. The wing-backs can also change to “Support”, with the DM moved to “Defend”. The attacking roles we would suggest stay the same as they are vital to how the formation scores goals. The original version of this formation has the DLP as a second DM, which is something you can also do, though put them on “Support”
