Football Manager 2020 is hitting the shelves in a matter of days – but until now, little has been known about how much of an upgrade we can expect to see.
That’s until a blog post landed a couple days ago – revealing a host of match engine improvements, from informed attacking runs to new marking code.
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This will come as a welcome surprise to the FM community, who have been crying out for a more authentic experience for what seems like an eternity.
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Attacking improvements
The FM team have watched and analysed hundreds of matches over the course of the development cycle and drawn on their own coaching experience as well as the expertise of their contacts within the football industry.
This has been done with the purpose of fine-tuning attacking movement and ensuring variety in attacking play.
Informed runs
Players now make more intelligent and realistic off-the-ball runs during attacking phases of play (which are contextualised to their position and player roles).
For example, you might see a deep-lying forward looking to drop deep and receive the ball or get into a position that will cause the opposition a headache.
Contextual movement
The type of movement that a player makes is entirely contextual, too.
Some players will choose to come for the ball and offer support against a high press whereas others may try to overlap in the centre of the pitch against a compressed midfield unit.
You’ll even notice some strikers who will initially move offside then check back onside as the ball is played. Class.
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Wide players will look to make more outside-to-in runs if the situation allows, particularly if you select the Inverted Winger role that is now available for both the AMR and AML positions.
Better decision making
Decision-making in the final third has improved as a result of the changes to attacking movement as well.
In particular, players will now look to shift the ball onto their stronger foot for a shot or cross, meaning they will give the defender less of a chance to get a block or tackle in.
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The changes to attacking movement are also influenced by your own instructions; the directness and tempo of both teams determines what type of off-the-ball runs and attacking moves are made by the players.
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