Intro
Inspiration can come from unlikely places. I have a continually expanding list of football literature to read, and whilst they are interesting on the most part; it’s rare for them to get my creative juices flowing. Instead, I often sidestep and read up on other subjects that interest me, and Japanese military strategy is an example of that.
Of course, I’m no expert in military strategy…but the subject of Japan, especially it’s martial arts, has always fascinated me. Miyamoto Musashi, the author of The Book of Five Rings (1645) that has loosely inspired this offbeat FM blog, was a swordsman of the Kenjutsu school. Despite being published in the mid-17th Century, Musashi’s thoughts on philosophy and life through the engagements of battle can not only be applied to many parts of modern day real-life, but also in Football and in Football Manager too.
In this post, I’ll share a quote from Miyamoto Musashi and explain why I think it can make you a better Football Manager.
“The principle of strategy is having one thing, to know ten thousand things”
In a broader sense, this quote (and its wider chapter) highlights the difference between Oriental and Western outlooks on education. Simply put, the East likes specialisms…whereas us in the West like to educate our children to have a broad sense of many specialist areas. Musashi wants the reader to know that total proficiency in one’s pastime/skill can bring about a greater knowledge of other things in life.
Specialise your save
“There’s no link to FM here Tony?!?”, I hear you ask. Well, what if you accept that your new save is about focussing in one area of the game? Be it: being a journeyman, maintaining a philosophy, focussing on transfers as a Director of Football, training for gains or youth development. The staff responsibilities screen, and the ability to delegate can drastically alter your save. I would even go as far as saying that many people who have been absent from Football Manager series for a decade do not know about the levels of customisation to make the game more streamlined. This ought to be screamed from the rooftops to get legacy players (who feel they no longer have the time to play) back into the game. It’s ok to “know one thing”.
Specialise your players
My other Football Manager sidestep is how I now play the game and rate its players. From time-to-time I have managed at a low level; whether that’s Mexico’s 2nd Division (FM20) or Brazilian lower leagues (FM22). By managing in a lower level, you accept that players will be inefficient at certain things. But it’s also worth keeping in mind that so too are the league opposition. Everything is relative. If a Winger has great acceleration and pace, but not much else…he can still be effective in a lower league. A defender with literally no Technicals is fine, just keep his play simple…have him specialise as a destroyer or non-nonsense type player. The players become specialised. It’s ok that they “know one thing”.
“It is difficult to move strong things by pushing directly, so you should injure the corners”
Miyamoto Musashi’s comments here relate to large scale battle, but the principle of what he is suggesting can be applied on the football pitch. Sometimes facing up your strength against the opposition will not be enough. Perhaps you need to find a weakness and alter your attack to “injure a corner” …and thus not engage the opposition head on.
There are several ways to do this in Football Manager. One way is consulting the scouting reports of the opposition each week. Not got a staff member doing that just yet? Get him/her focussed on providing you with one ahead of each game, there may be useful insight included which you can exploit.
Another way is simply a brief squad overview or previous line up analysis. Who’s in bad form right now? Whose condition is weakened by a run of games OR is a player coming back from long-term injury? Who doesn’t match up well against one member of your squad? Align your troops and “injure the corners”.
“The mountain-sea spirit means that it is bad to repeat the same thing several times when fighting the enemy (…) If you attempt a technique which you have previously tried unsuccessfully and fail yet again, then you must change your attacking method”
Miyamoto Musashi quote is based on a chapter around 1v1 sword technique. In 17th Century Kenjutsu, you’d likely have a maximum of two opportunities to change from a failed attack. Repeating it a third time would, in Musashi’s view, lead to a defeat.
In Football Manager strategy terms, this has been a common piece of discourse on the GrassNGear podcast, as Dan and I have often stressed the importance of attacking in a varied way. It’s a common sight, a tactic that has duplicated roles on each side…completely symmetrical. It can work…but you’re relying on the difference of those players through traits and attribute make-up to make the attacks varied. The same could be said for set pieces (Hi Ondrej), having more than one tailored to your side will add variety and could bring about the marginal gain that changes your season.
Example of perfect symmetry.
It would be much better to mix up where, and how, you attack the opposition. ‘Swap Roles’ option is a great technique (and something I wrote about here).
But also consider if you replace players on a like-for-like basis when making in-match substitutions. Do you? I’ve certainly done this before, and it’s only natural to recruit similar players who can interchange easily with those in your squad if the tactic is ‘working’. But sometimes it may be better to take off, for example, a Target Forward and replace him (and his role) with a different style of attack, e.g. an Advanced Forward who will look to get in behind of the opposition. The reasoning here is that the Target Forward may be having a bad game against similarly strong defenders who have nullified his threat, so use the “mountain-sea spirit” and attack variedly.
“People are always under the impression that the enemy is strong, and so tend to become cautious. But if you have good soldiers, and if you understand the principles of strategy, and if you know how to beat the enemy, there is nothing to worry about”
I am guilty of playing Football Manager over cautiously. Miyamoto Musashi’s words echoed in my head for a day or so from reading this chapter, because it rung true. Even in most successful ‘defensive’ teams, there is always a plan to win the match. A route to goal. It is easy for setups to become naturally entrenched in a defensive mindset, with little thought in how to attack. Throw caution to the wind, find the combination that works in your side, and don’t be too cautious.
If you know the three of four ways you regularly want to attack (refer to that mountain-sea spirit as mentioned above), make sure you check that it’s flourishing. Your Attacking players, and the chances they get, are the temperature gauge of how good your strategy is. I’m not talking about number of shots; rather the number of high xG chances per game. If you have confidence in this, then “there is nothing to worry about”.
Concluding thoughts
Not my kids.
This post is neither an FM Guide or book review. But it’s intended to act as an aide memoire for me, and to hopefully to serve a purpose in helping others too. The Book of Five Rings was a surprisingly enjoyable holiday read, having only encountered it by chance in a ‘bibliothèque libre-service’ (a pop-up cabinet with books). It’s rare to find English books as good as this in them, inspiration really does come from unlikely places!
Thank you for reading,
Tony / FM Grasshopper