Football Manager 2023 Features | Explaining New Changes in the FM23 Tactical Instructions

Here is where I try explaining new changes in the FM23 tactical Instructions to make it easier for a lot of people to understand those new changes brought into the game.

As we all know the long waited Football Manager 2023 is here with its beta version released a few days ago by Sports Interactive. FM23 is really interesting so far, as they made a few tactical changes in the out-of-possession phase of the game. They removed the following from the game tactical setups: A much higher line of engagement, the standard line of engagement, defensive width and tighter marking. They replaced them with the following: Mid-block line of engagement, Step up or drop off defensive line, Trap inside or outside pressing trap and stop or invite crosses engagement. In the post, I will explain these changes or replacements and the teams that employ these strategies in real-life football.

Explanation

Mid-block Line Of Engagement

FM23 explains The mid-block line of engagement as “the strategy that asks the team to adopt a balanced approach between maintaining positional organisation and pressing the opponent, engaging just before the halfway line but rarely beyond that”. What this means in the actual sense is that the team will allow the opponents to build up comfortably from their box but once they step close to the midfield, they will start pressing the opponents depending on their intensity. Some teams that do this in real life this season are Tottenham, Brentford and sometimes Real Madrid.

Step up or Drop off Defensive Line

Step up more defensive line

FM23 explained this as “the strategy that will ask the defenders to press typically higher up the pitch in an effort to compact the midfield space ahead of them and give the opposition less room and unchallenged time on the ball. It can however be more susceptible to having long balls played beyond them”. Since I have been using this strategy there have been some defensive issues in FM23 which I think can improve the full version of the game which will be released on 8^th November 2022. This strategy is good with teams that counter-press to win back possession. Some Real life teams that employ this strategy are Arsenal, Man City, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid. This strategy suffers against teams that are good with direct football which was one of the reasons Man Utd defeated Arsenal on the Matchday 6 of the Premier League this season. When the defenders step up more, they usually trap opponents in offside positions – which is why it is the perfect replacement for offside traps in FM23.

Drop Off More Defensive Line

The game explained dropping off more defensive lines as “the strategy that will ask the defenders to adopt a safety-first approach by typically defending closer to their own goal when there is an opposition attacking threat. It reduces the vulnerability of giving up space in behind but it does concede more territory and invite more pressure”. This strategy suits the team that regroups when they lose possession and defensive-minded teams/tactic. Some real-life teams that carry out this strategy are Inter Milan, Unai Emery’s Villarreal, Tottenham and Frankfurt.

Trap Inside or Outside pressing trap

Trap Inside Pressing Trap

Trap inside pressing trap asks the team to set a pressing trap designed to funnel the ball into the central areas and force turnovers in advantageous areas. This strategy will make spread wide forcing the opponents to play through the middle of the pitch – this is similar to wide defensive width in FM22. In real life, this strategy is not popular in football today because most teams prefer to force opponents outside.

Trap Outside Pressing Trap

Trap Outside pressing trap asks the team to set a pressing trap designed to funnel the ball into wide areas, where the opposition has fewer options with the ball and is more likely to concede possession. This type of pressing trap is more popular in today’s football as most teams prefer it to trap inside pressing traps and it is similar to the narrow defensive width in FM22 which forces the opponents to play through the flanks than through the middle.

Stop or Invite Crosses Engagements

Stop Crosses Engagement

Stop crosses influence the team to seek to avoid defending crosses into the penalty area, instead forcing the opponents to find another way to attack. This is more popular than inviting crosses

Invite Crosses Engagement

Invites crosses asks the team to allow crosses in an effort to defend in situations they would be confident of being successful in, perhaps against opponents with shorter forwards or those who prefer to play in more central areas. This strategy encourages the defenders to focus more on clearing out crosses that come into the box than blocking crosses through their side defenders. This strategy is rare in today’s football as most teams prefer to keep the opponents at the flanks and then use their fullbacks or wingers to block crosses.

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