Picking an underdog team and taking them to the top is quintessential Football Manager – so why not do the same with FC Edmonton?
The Eddies, like the rest of the Canadian Premier League, are fully-licensed in Football Manager 21, the latest in a wildly-successful football manager simulation series. If you choose to manage the Eddies in FM, reversing their Island Games fortunes will be job no. 1.
Follow these fundamentals to do exactly that…
Oh, and be sure to check out prominent Football Manager gamer WorkTheSpace’s multi-year game viewable on Twitch right now. Tens of thousands have viewed his series, which has seen him acquire the likes of current Montreal Impact midfielder and former Eddie Shamit Shome, Cavalry FC’s Marco Carducci, and Columbus Crew striker Jordan Hamilton. Nothing short of a superteam.
Take the Island Games title and follow in WorkTheSpace’s footsteps. Sounds easy, yeah?
RELATED READING: 5 things to watch for in Football Manager 21’s CPL database || More on Football Manager || 4 Canadian Premier League saves to try in Football Manager 2021
Two banks of four
Who doesn’t love a cheeky 4-4-2! We had great luck with the Eddies implementing a traditional 4-4-2 with Tomi Ameobi and Prince Amanda up top. Amanda, with suburb agility and dribbling stats, ended up carrying the ball deep into the corner, allowing the time for wingers to rush up into the attack and support.
This sit-back approach is ideal because of FCE’s highly-rated centre-backs. Ramon Soria and Amer Didic are two of the highest-rated defenders in the Canadian game universe and since both are capable of playing a “ball-playing centre-back” role, you should have no problem spearheading attacks from the back, too.
Utilize Hanson Boakai & Keven Alemán
The above formation also allows FCE to use the winger duo of Hanson Boakai and Keven Alemán to their full advantage. Recent additions for the 2020 CPL season, the inverted wingers bring a much-needed dynamism to your attack – just make sure they are set to an “inverted” role.
Boakai is highly-rated in FM21, likely because of his time in Europe. Take advantage of that. Alemán, meanwhile, is a wicked set-piece taker.
Need to add a free kick specialist to your #CanPL @FootballManager side?
Sounds like a job for Marcel 🔱 pic.twitter.com/Fbe0Norikl
— CanPL (@CPLsoccer) November 24, 2020
Dribbling an understated strength
If you’re having trouble creating chances, try adding the “dribble more often” instruction to Boakai, Alemán, and Amanda, who stand as the top ten among CPLers in the “dribbling” attribute.
It’s a great way to generate chances if you find your attack has stagnated, similar to what we saw from the Eddies at the real-life Island Games. Force your talented players to take chances and make space.
Player to Watch: Ramon Soria
Former coach Jeff Paulus called Ramon Soria the most intelligent defender in the CPL – his FM21 attributes certainly reflect that. Superb concentration, positioning, and tackling attributes more than make up for the 31-year-old’s less-than-stellar physical stats. He’s two-footed as well, making him a great left centre-half.