Andoni Iraola’s Brilliant Bournemouth – FM24 Tactical Recreation (WINS TREBLE)

Achieve a treble with Iraola's bold Bournemouth tactics in FM24. High press, direct play, and relentless wins await!

Guide your team to a historic treble in FM24 using Iraola’s fearless, high-press tactics.

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In the 22/23 season, Bournemouth finished 15th in the Premier League, mainly thanks to Gary O’Neil’s rescue act, as he guided them safely away from danger. It came as a shock, however, when Bournemouth decided to move on from O’Neil on the 19th June and replace him with Andoni Iraola, coming in from Rayo Vallecano in Spain. 

This looked like the wrong move when Bournemouth had failed to win in their first 9 Premier League games in 23/24, however since then, Iraola has led the Cherries to their highest ever points total in the Premier League (48), whilst playing a very unique and brave style of play, that has seen them conjure up some very impressive wins, such as the 2-0 win vs Newcastle United, the 0-3 win at Old Trafford against Manchester United and the most recent (at the time of writing) 2-0 win against Arsenal. 

In this article, I will be showcasing my replication of Iraola’s Bournemouth on Football Manager, along with the great results I managed to achieve in game. Firstly, let’s have a look at the core principles of this system.

Iraola’s Intense High-Press

Bournemouth are one of the Premier League’s most fierce pressing teams. This is seen by some of their off-the-ball numbers, as they rank 1st in the league for Distance Covered (km), 3rd for Sprints, 2nd for High Turnovers, 1st for Shots from High Turnovers and 4th for Pressed Sequences*. The Cherries are almost relentless at times, as they consistently look to harry the opposition and prevent them from building up from the back. 

However, unlike other teams around them in the league, Bournemouth are incredibly meticulous in the way they press, as they hand over their respective markers to their closest team-mates, in order to make sure the only spare man in the press is the full-back on the opposite side of play. You’ll commonly see this with the wingers and midfielders, as the midfielders will hand over their marker (usually the opposing midfielder) to the winger on their side, in turn leaving the full-back as the spare man. This allows Bournemouth to leave all central passing options marked, and to sit very compact in the centre. 

To replicate these things, I applied the following Team Instructions:

• ‘High Press’
• ‘Prevent Short GK Distribution’
• ‘Step Up More’
• ‘More Often’ (Trigger Press)
• ‘Higher Defensive Line’

Against teams playing the 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3 formations, I would apply the ‘Mark Specific Position’ instruction on both my wingers, and have them mark the position of the midfielders on their side:

• AM (R) marking DM (CL) / M (CL)
• AM (L) marking DM (CR) / M (CR)

• [message]
• DISCLAIMER
• You won’t need to manually do this, inside the download file, you’ll see multiple files and there’ll be separate tactic files for those changes (‘vs 4-2-3-1' and ‘vs 4-3-3').

High-Tempo, Direct and Attacking Football

Whilst other teams around them, like Southampton, prefer a more meticulous, patient and precise game, Bournemouth opt for a beautifully chaotic, reckless approach. When they win the ball back, their first thought is to strike while the iron is hot and exploit the opponents’ disorganised shape. Iraola explains this:

“The first thing we try to do when we recover the ball is play to the number nine, because that is usually the moment when the opponent is less well positioned and you can find better spaces.”

When Bournemouth do have possession, they can play and build-up in a more organised manner, however they still look to play the forward pass when it’s on, as they play around 39% of their passes forward – only bettered by Sean Dyche’s Everton. 

In 23/24, a lot of their forward passes would be directed towards Dominic Solanke. From then, he could use his strength and imposing frame to dominate the opposition centre-backs and protect the ball, before laying off to a midfielder or wide player. In Solanke’s only season under Iraola, he scored 19 Premier League goals, and this caught the attention of Tottenham Hotspur, who swooped in and paid a handsome fee of up to £65m for the Englishman. 

This left a sizable gap in the team, and the Cherries replaced Solanke with Evanilson from Porto. A slightly different profile to Solanke, therefore Bournemouth tends to aim their passes forward towards the wings now. To replicate this, I applied the following Team Instructions:

• ‘Slightly More Direct Passing’
• ‘Higher Tempo’
• ‘Wide’ (Attacking Width)
• ‘Pass Into Space’
• ‘Counter’

Very Brave Giant-Killing Approach

As mentioned before, Iraola’s Bournemouth have a slight knack for beating the big boys. 2-0 vs Newcastle, 0-3 vs Manchester United and 2-0 vs Arsenal are all very impressive results, however it’s their incredibly brave approach that is more intriguing. Against the big teams, most would sit deep in a low-block and try to live off scraps, in the hope that their opposition were to make a mistake or over-commit to the attack. Bournemouth, on the other hand, take a riskier approach and throw caution to the wind, as Iraola explains:

“The better the opposition, the more risk you have to take if you want to press them.”

Iraola continues:

“You know, sometimes people say, ‘They are very good, so we have to wait a little longer to press.’ But that way you have zero chance to recover that ball.”

Iraola is, sometimes, so brave in these big games that you’ll see one of the centre-backs stepping into midfield to apply pressure, as Iraola states:

“So, sometimes we have to get used to seeing Lewis [Cook] in the opposition box, even [centre-back] Marcos Senesi sometimes follows in to the edge of the box.”

To replicate these things, I created a big-game tactic with Team Instruction and Player Instruction changes. When you download the tactic, you’ll see tactic files with ‘vs Big Teams’ in the name, and then you’ll be able to use Iraola’s big game tactics in-game.

Let’s Break Down the Tactic

Team instructions

• In Possession: Encourages direct, attacking play. Looking to utilise the flanks as much as possible. Running at defence to encourage runs towards the byline for cut-backs/crosses. Passing into space to allow more direct transitions.
• In Transition: Instructs team to play on the transition. Counter-pressing to win back the ball immediately, and attempt a transitional game. Passing out from the back into centre-backs, who’ll look for direct passes into wide areas.
• Out of Possession: High pressing, high intensity with a high line encourages our team to be on the front foot. Preventing short distribution will allow our team to mark shorter passing options for the opposition ‘keeper, forcing him into long balls/riskier diagonals (high chance of turnover). Stepping up more to close the space in midfield and encourage one/both of our centre-backs to step into midfield.

Player Roles & Instructions

Sweeper Keeper – Defend:

Kepa tends to push up slightly to create a diagonal back-three base in build-up, however rarely leaves his penalty area in possession. No additional player instructions.

Full-Back – Support:

Adam Smith usually holds his position to form a back-three in settled possession, however holds a wider position to provide a back-pass option for the winger on his side. Can run with the ball at times to cross from the byline. Both full-backs in Iraola’s system are usually instructed to mark their respective opposing wingers. All of these things are encouraged in-game by the selection of the Player Instructions below:

Central Defender – Defend:

Zabarnyi is the more traditional centre-back in his partnership with Senesi, and therefore will be a bit simpler with his ball progression. Out of possession, he’ll be tentatively aggressive, picking and choosing when to step up and when to drop off. He tends to look for more direct passes, mostly into wide regions. These things are encouraged in-game by the selection of the Player Instructions below:

Ball-Playing Defender – Stopper:

Senesi, on the other hand, will be more progressive with his ball-playing and will also be more adventurous with the ball at his feet, sometimes looking to carry the ball forwards as a means of progression. He'll be more potent with his pressure, regularly stepping into midfield to cut out passes and retrieve the ball. These things are encouraged in-game with the selection of the Player Instructions below:

Full-Back – Attack:

Kerkez, unlike Smith on the other side, is more attacking with his movement down the flank, as he’ll regularly look to overlap the winger on his side and run with the ball down the line, in an attempt to reach the byline and put a dangerous ball across goal for an attacker to receive. Like Smith, however, Kerkez usually marks his opposing winger, especially in build-up, in an attempt to eliminate his threat. These things are encouraged in-game by the selection of the Player Instructions below:

Ball-Winning Midfielder – Defend:

Lewis Cook is Bournemouth’s reliable engine in midfield, always looking to nip in and intercept passes or win tackles and give the ball to the more creative Ryan Christie to progress with the ball. Most of the time, you’ll see Lewis Cook as a single-pivot as Bournemouth can build-up in an asymmetrical 4-3-3 and press high in a 4-1-3-2. When he spots the right time to, he looks to mark an opposing midfielder. These things are encouraged in-game by the selection of the Player Instructions below:

Roaming Playmaker – Support:

Ryan Christie is Bournemouth’s main playmaker, having previously been utilised in the no.10 role by former managers. He tends to use his bundles of energy to roam around the pitch to provide an option in possession. Out of possession, Christie presses high as the no.10 in the 4-1-3-2 and looks to mark the opposing single/ball-side pivot tightly. These things are encouraged in-game by the selection of the Player Instructions below:

Attacking Midfielder – Support:

The actual no.10 in this system is another creative player, however has a bit more responsibility in possession, having to provide a secondary central threat both in and around the box, along with providing support to the striker if he’s holding up the ball. The no.10 is also given freedom to roam, however it’s usually within the confines of the right-hand side. Out of possession, the no.10 has to move in-line with the striker to form a front-two, looking to press the opposing centre-backs. These things are encouraged in-game by the selection of the Player Instructions below:

(AM L) Inverted Winger – Attack:

The wingers in this system are crucial, as they have to regularly run the wide channels and sometimes provide crosses into the area. On the left-side, the winger is given licence to move inside as Kerkez overlaps, putting the winger in a great position to create or shoot. The wingers are just as crucial out of possession, as they have a responsibility to take the midfielders’ markers and cover any ground should the ball be switched to the opposite full-back. These things are encouraged in-game by the selection of the Player Instructions below:

(AM R) Inverted Winger – Attack:

On the right side, the responsibilities both in and out of possession are the same, apart from the winger is encouraged to hold the width a bit more. Therefore, with the left-winger inverting and left-back holding a high and wide position, Bournemouth can create a 3-2-5 shape in settled possession. These things are encouraged in-game by the Player Instructions below:

Pressing Forward – Attack:

The striker in this system, when Solanke was at the club, was more of a target man. However, with Evanilson’s arrival, the role has had to be adapted and is now more of a direct threat instead. Evanilson is instructed to run the channels and work incredibly hard off-the-ball. This will be encouraged in-game by the selection of the Player Instructions below:

Opposition Instructions

These opposition instructions will accentuate our team’s press, giving us more opportunities for turnovers.

Results

Premier League:

We won the Premier League with AFC Bournemouth, accumulating 92 points in an extraordinary season! We won 28 out of our 38 games, drawing 8 and losing ONLY TWO GAMES. In the league, we scored the second-most goals (76) and conceded the second-fewest goals (25). It wasn’t a major fluke either, as the xG table suggests we should’ve finished 2nd!

Domestic Cups:

We won both the FA Cup and Carabao Cup! The latter, of which, we won by beating both Man City and Liverpool on our way to lifting the trophy! The FA Cup was slightly kinder with the draws, as we easily dispatched off Swindon Town, Preston North End, Fleetwood and Sunderland (7-0!), before beating Arsenal and Chelsea 2-1 and 3-1 respectively on our way to lifting the trophy!

WE WON THE TREBLE WITH AFC BOURNEMOUTH!!!

Conclusion

In June 2023, Bournemouth made the shocking decision to part ways with Gary O’Neil, the man that kept them in the Premier League. Many raised eyebrows followed after a very poor start for Iraola and the club, however, just 12 months on and Iraola’s doubters have been silenced as he continues to take Bournemouth from strength to strength. In Football Manager 2024, I have successfully managed to replicate Iraola’s unique system at Bournemouth, and I have achieved immense success with it, and I hope you achieve such success with this tactic too! Thanks for reading!

*All statistics and quotes found on Sky Sports