Football Manager 2023 Man City tactic and team guide. Club culture and board requirements, tactics, key players, youth prospects in FM23.
Football Manager 2023 Man City tactic and team guide. Club culture and board
requirements, tactics, key players, youth prospects and potential transfers
in FM23.
Here is a brief analysis of the Man City squad, their club structure, relationship any potential managers will have with the board, expectations and possible tactics any FM manager can use.
About Man City
Manchester City are a team founded in 1880 and ply their trade in the English Premier League. Although largely a lower mid-table club during the start of the PL era, Man City are one of the most successful teams of the last decade. Man City have won 6 PL titles in the last decade alone which included an unprecedented 100+ point season which is the highest ever points tally for a club from the Premier League. In 2019, City won 4 trophies completing a clean sweep of all the domestic titles for English clubs and becoming the first men's team in England to win the domestic treble.
Man City are the defending PL Champions, so the board expectations once you take over will be;
· Win the Premier League.
· Challenge for the Champion's League
· Challenge for the FA Cup
· Be competitive in the Community Shield.
· Be competitive in the Carabao Cup.
Considering the budgets the Man City board offers and the quality of the squad, these expectations should not be too hard to achieve, especially for seasoned managers.
The board will require you to play attacking football whilst playing a possession-heavy entertaining brand of football. You will also be required to sign high-profile players and develop players that emerge from the club’s youth system.
The supporter’s culture and expectations once you take over will be;
Man City probably have the best training and youth facilities in the league and have already produced world-class youngsters that are taking world football by storm. With the club spoilt for riches and with very ambitious owners, money is never going to be a problem for any manager taking over the club.
READ ALSO: Football Manager 2023 Transfer Budgets
Squad, Formation and Tactical Style
Man City have a plethora of stars in their squad, with multiple options for each position. You can deploy multiple tactics and still find success. However, let us see what works best for the personnel available.
Man City, in real life, play a very possession-heavy style of football with them, pressing high up the field and winning back the ball. You can do the same with a tiki-taka/ vertical tiki-taka style of football with high-pressing instructions and a free role for the attacking wingers.
A 4-2-3-1 is the best-suited formation for Man City, where all the players can play to their strengths. This would also help in winning possession high up the pitch and play a fast-tempo game.
A rough example of what your line-up would look like in a 4-2-3-1 formation is as follows;
Ederson as a sweeper keeper
Joao Cancelo & Kyle Walker as wing backs.
Manuel Akanji & Ruben Dias as Ball playing centre back with defend instructions.
Rodri played as a ball-winning defender, and Ilkay Gundogan deployed as a B2B midfielder.
Kevin De Bruyne, who is the club’s most important player, will be an advanced playmaker in the 10 role.
Jack Grealish as an inverted winger from the left & Bernardo Silva as an inside forward on the right.
Erling Haaland as an Advanced forward or a Pressing forward.
There are quality options on the bench in the form of Riyad Mahrez & Phil Foden, who can easily substitute for any players from the starting XI or make an impact from the bench.
Key Players
Man City have the most star-studded squad of all teams in the Premier League. Some key players in their line-up are,
Erling Haaland
One of the greatest ever strikers for his age, Haaland is a machine who keeps scoring when presented with chances. With the right tactics, he should be able to break every goal record in the league.
Kevin De Bruyne
Ruben Dias
Joao Cancelo
READ ALSO:
Football Manager 2023 Best Players Shortlist
There are a lot of exciting young prospects in the ranks or on loan who have the potential to be some of the best players in the league. A few examples are,
Youth Prospects
There are a lot of exciting young prospects in the ranks or on loan who have the potential to be some of the best players in the league. A few examples are,
Sergio Gomez
Kayky
READ ALSO: Football Manager 2023 Wonderkids Shortlist
With a squad full of superstars and a sugar daddy owner, there are very few weaknesses with managing Man City; however, some problems you may encounter are,
Having a squad full of superstars could create a new problem on its own, with players constantly getting unhappy over playing time. This also makes it very hard to give minutes to youngsters, and you could end up losing some best talents.
Board and fan expectations are super high with anything other than silverware can be considered as a failure.
Despite having one of the strongest squads in-game, Man City can still do with these additions to the squad.
⦁ Theo Hernandez
⦁ Jude Bellingham
These players may be surplus to requirements at the club or may not be of the expected quality.
⦁ Nathan Ake
⦁ Scott Carson
With a star-studded squad and unlimited budgets, Man City could be the favourites for many managers. However, the expectations are as high as the quality of the squad. Could you one-up Pep Guardiola and lead Man City to their elusive first UEFA Champions League win?!
Weaknesses
With a squad full of superstars and a sugar daddy owner, there are very few weaknesses with managing Man City; however, some problems you may encounter are,
Having a squad full of superstars could create a new problem on its own, with players constantly getting unhappy over playing time. This also makes it very hard to give minutes to youngsters, and you could end up losing some best talents.
Board and fan expectations are super high with anything other than silverware can be considered as a failure.
Potential Transfers (in)
Despite having one of the strongest squads in-game, Man City can still do with these additions to the squad.
⦁ Theo Hernandez
⦁ Jude Bellingham
Potential Transfers (Out)
These players may be surplus to requirements at the club or may not be of the expected quality.
⦁ Nathan Ake
⦁ Scott Carson
Summary
With a star-studded squad and unlimited budgets, Man City could be the favourites for many managers. However, the expectations are as high as the quality of the squad. Could you one-up Pep Guardiola and lead Man City to their elusive first UEFA Champions League win?!
