FM21 Sheffield United tactic and team guide. Club culture and board requirements, tactics, key players, youth prospects and potential transfers.
Football Manager 2021 Sheffield United tactic and team guide. Club culture
and board requirements, tactics, key players, youth prospects and potential
transfers in FM21.
About the club
The “blades” as they are commonly referred to are a tenacious club that was established in 1888. They did have early successful years, but in the PL era, they’ve had it very rough.
However, a takeover in 2013 by a Saudi prince has seen the fortunes turn
around at Sheffield. They got promoted from the 3rd Tier of English football
in the 2016-2017 season. After their promotion, Sheffield had a dream start to
their PL campaign and finished a hugely impressive 9th.
Board Requirements
Despite punching way above their weight last time around, the board remain realistic and grounded in their approach. Their requirements once you take over will be,
1. Survive relegation in the English Premier League
2. Making the 5th round of the FA Cup.
3. Making the 4th round of the EFL Carabao Cup.
Surprisingly, the board will want you to play a possession-based style of football which may not be easy to achieve initially. They will also want you to use set-pieces effectively and develop players using the club’s youth system.
The club has adequate training facilities and a moderate youth set up. You will definitely have to work on improving these once you stabilize the club in the PL.
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Squad, Formation and Tactical Style
The best suited tactical setup you can deploy with Sheffield is the wing-play tactic. This will aim to make maximum use of the wing-backs and their crossing ability to the fullest. Set Pieces are a major part of how Sheffield score goals, so you will definitely need to take advantage of the tall players at your disposal.
A 3-5-2 is how the blades line up in real life and with the available squad, it is best if you follow that. By doing this and concentrating on wing play it will ensure that your forwards are constantly fed crosses. Working on your set pieces is also of great importance with Sheffield.
A rough example of what your line-up would look like in a 3-5-2 formation is as follows,
Aaron Ramsdale as a regular keeper
Jack O’Connell, John Egan & Chris Basham as your 3 centre backs. You can play Basham as a ball-playing defender and the other 2 as regular central defenders.
Enda Stevens & George Baldock as your wingbacks. They need to have crossing instructions turned to the highest.
John Fleck, Oliver Norwood & Sander Berge as your central midfield 3. Norwood can be played as a deep playmaker while the other 2 can have box to box roles.
Lys Mousset & Oliver McBurnie as your 2 strikers.
I would not recommend other formations for Sheffield, atleast initially. However, there are plenty of striker options at the club and you can try to play a 3-4-3 with club Legend Billy Sharp or David McGoldrick as the 3rd attacking option.
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Key Players
1. Oli McBurnie
Oliver McBurnie is a young talented striker who has his mettle in the championship. Under a good manager, he could easily replicate the form in the PL. He was the club record signing before the purchase of Sander Berge.
2. Enda Stevens
Enda Stevens is a fine attacking wing-back. He contributes a lot of goals and assists and is a crucial cog in the Blades’ wheel.
3. Sander Berge
Berge is the club-record signing at Sheffield and is a solid player at midfield. Considering that he is still very young, there is a ton of room for growth and he can easily be one of the best ever players to wear a Blades’ shirt.
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Weaknesses
1. With very few creative players the blades could struggle to create chances from open play.
2. With other teams investing heavily in the transfer market, the shortage in quality of the squad could reflect in some key results pushing Sheffield to the brink of relegation.
3. Although there are a few striker options, they are not very clinical and coupled with the shortage of opportunities created, goals can be hard to come by.
Potential Transfers (in)
These players could be a handy addition to the Sheffield squad and help them achieve their targets,
· Karlan Grant
· Gylfi Sigurdsson
Potential Transfers (Out)
These players may be surplus to requirements at the club or may not be of the expected quality.
· Jack Rodwell
· Jack Robinson
Youth Prospects
1. Rhian Brewster
Brewster is a talented young striker who can become a top striker in England. He has already proven his ability at several lower levels and can be a top player for Sheffield in the future.
2. Marcus Dewhurst
The young goalkeeper currently plays for Sheffield u23 and has the potential to be a top keeper for the club.
3. Ismaila Coulibaly
The young Malian midfielder is currently loaned out of Sheffield. He has the ability to be an important player for the club in the future. His versatility and directness makes it easy to include him into most setups.
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Summary
To Summarize, Sheffield United are one of the teams predicted to be fighting for relegation at the end of the season both in real life and in FM21. Can you take over as manager and bring some consistency into the Blades? Can you make them an established PL side?
