Football Manager 2020 Touch advanced tips for winning the league

Whether your remit is to defend a league title with a dominant force like Serie A champions Juventus or win one in two seasons’ time with an emerging challenger such as Atalanta, team morale is a factor that can make or break these goals in Football Manager 2020 Touch.

Discontent can creep in if you don’t keep tabs on the mood around your camp, and before you know it, you have a mutiny to rival HMS Bounty’s on your hands. If this happens during a title run-in or a critical period in your club’s development, the results can be catastrophic. Remember, one Joey Barton can spoil the entire barrel.

Squad morale comes down to much more than your team’s form on the pitch, and keeping your promises to your players will go a long way to maintaining it. If you vowed to improve the team’s attack during contract negotiations with your marquee summer signing, make sure you go on to recruit an additional attacker, or at least don’t make this pledge if you’ve no intention of following through on it. This will usually come back to bite you.

One of the most common reasons a player’s morale will dip is that they’re not playing enough games, and it’s important to act quickly to address their unhappiness before it becomes contagious around the locker room. If you promise to give them a run of games or send them out on loan, make sure you do exactly that without delay.

If no clubs are willing to take an unhappy player who’s surplus to requirements, the only option may be a mutual contract termination. This can be expensive but if it nips the problem in the bud before it can affect the final stretch of a title race, it’s for the greater good.

Managers who stubbornly stick to the same formation, game after game, eventually get found out. No matter how tried and tested your system of choice is, predictability will eventually set in and the opposition will soon discover your tactical Kryptonite.

To have any hope of winning a league title in Football Manager 2020 Touch, you’ll need to be adaptable and make sure your opponents can’t take for granted what they’ll be up against when Saturday comes. Master at least three formations, be aware of which player roles work best with each one and learn when you should make a change.

A good starting point is 4-2-3-1 combined with Jurgen Klopp’s favourite tactic, Gegenpress. This high-pressing style of play work well in most leagues, and if you set it up just right, it can actually feel overpowered. But predictability will set in if you use it too often and teams that sit deep and favour a Sam Allardyce-style ‘hoof ball’ gameplan can catch you out.

You’ll want a two-striker formation to fall back on. Systems such as the tried and tested 4-4-2 can obviously be effective against teams that are vulnerable to a dual-pronged attack. Check if this is the case when that opposition scouting report lands on your desk in the run-up to a match.

To ensure you have every base covered, it’s also worth adding a more defensive formation to your repertoire, like 5-3-2. Although this system has its offensive merits, such as the potential for free roaming wingbacks, it can also be useful for those times when you need to park the bus. Even if you’re coaching Barcelona, you’ll still need to learn how to set out a defensive stall. Perhaps the title race has gone to the wire on you only need to take a point from Real Madrid away on the final day. Shutting up shop might be the best option.

Sometimes winning the league is a marathon, not a sprint, and in the case of many clubs you’ll need to grow and develop your squad over the course of several seasons. Throwing money at this problem isn’t always an option, so it’s important to produce your own players through the club’s youth system, as well as make smart investments in the transfer market.

Football Manager 2020 Touch make it easier than ever to identify gems in your academy since the new Development Centre feature does a lot of the legwork for you, but there are a number of things you should be doing to boost your chances of producing the next Lionel Messi. Be sure to upgrade your youth facilities as soon as possible - submit board requests for this as often as the game will let you, assuming it’s financially viable.

When you receive a new intake of youth players, snap them all up on professional contracts once they turn 17, regardless of their current potential. Once they’re up and running in your reserves, your youth coach (who should be replaced if he isn’t the best available) will sort the wheat from the chaff and their recommendations are more astute than ever in FM20.

The age of 18 is critical for the stars of tomorrow. If they haven’t been put forward by your academy head for first-team consideration by this point, place them on the backburner. Players who are ready for the senior squad at this age should be eased into the first team, so try to give them a runout in at least 25 games per season. These can be substitute appearances but make sure they’re on by the 75th minute so they get a match rating.

Furthermore, don’t write off a highly-rated teen if they struggle to make the step up right away. Send them off on loan for a season, see what kind of average rating they rack up away from your club, and consider giving them another chance the following term.