by @guidosteve

Welcome to the second edition of FMGuido’s Monthly Digest.

In this month’s edition, we cover a bunch of exciting Football Manager content published in the month of March. We will look into why it’s easier to sell players for more than their value when you’re in a small league, we’ll take a look at a tactical challenge and we’ll learn what happens when 11 Messi’s play 11 Ronaldo’s.

So, give it a read and you’ll hopefully come away with new tips and tricks that can give you those extra points needed throughout a long season.

Time to get started…​

FM Slack Tactics Challenge | FC Anzhi Makhachkala

We start off this Monthly Roundup with a tactical challenge post.

If you don’t already know about it, the FM Slack Tactics Challenge is (as the name so cleverly hints at) a tactical challenge with a very strict set of rules.

In this challenge, you have to take charge of Russian side FC Anzhi and play a 3-1-3-1-2 formation.

And to focus even more on tactics, there are of course no transfers and no staff changes.

In the post Keysi Rensie gives a very detailed and interesting insight into how he tackled the challenge and not least, how he actually performed.

FM stories: Messi juniors, Sparta Pogba – what happened in a league full of clones?

We left off last month with two FM experiments.

The popularity with experiments in the game has not dropped at all and this month we present you a very interesting question: “What happens if we put 11 of the same players on the pitch and set up a league structure”. So yes, Messi is now a goalkeeper.

Greg Johnson tackles the challenge over at Squawka. Besides the novelty of the experiment he tops the it off with some great team names. Celta Vidal, Crystal Ronaldo and Notts Kante are in their just to name a few, so head over to Squawka and read the hilarious article.

Transfers: Using League Reputation To Your Advantage

Ever wondered why teams from better leagues will pay more than the face value of your players? And why this is harder to achieve if you’re a Premier League side?

If you can answer yes to any of these questions or you’re just of a curios nature, you should really check out MerryGuido’s look into the matter.

In the article he explains the phenomenon and tells you how to figure out how much your player is worth.

TACTICAL INSIGHT – 4.1.4.1 BALANCE, FLEXIBILITY & RATIONALITY

In the best tactical FM post I read in the month of March, the 4-1-4-1 formation is tackled.

The article has a very nice connection to the real world discussing how it follows the three principles that are taught at the Italian FA: Balance, flexibility and rationality.

It is shown how you can apply these principles into FM and you can of course download the tactic.

So, head over and read the article now.

MLS Adventure | Chicago Fire #1 | Football Manager Stories

Throughout the month, I’ve been looking forward to the next Alejandro Hurtado update from Tom over on VivaLaVidaFM.

Having started in South America with the aim of ending up at Sevilla, the story now makes its first foray to the Northern Hemisphere as the job at Chicago Fire is taken over.

Without revealing too much, it has been a tough time for the manager – not least because the club only had 8 real players when Alejandro Hurtado was appointed!

You can read the story here, and if you enjoy it, there are already four more posts at Chicago Fire. In addition, there is also a huge backlog of stories that you can digest.

CONCLUSION

This wraps up the second release of FMGuido’s Monthly Digest.

I highly recommend putting aside the time to go through these links.

It’ll be well worth your time and you might just learn a bit or two to take into you FM game.

If you enjoyed the Monthly Digest or think I’ve forgotten something please leave your feedback in the comment section below.

And if you don’t want to miss out on excellent content, you can follow me on twitter.​