I didn’t plan to write about set pieces so early in my main Football Manager 26 save because I didn’t expect to be able to settle into a routine I enjoy using. I was sceptical because of unknown players and their abilities, and I didn’t know what to expect of set pieces within the new game in general.
But after half of the first season with Lokeren, I can say I’m enjoying the short corner kick routine, and I put some of my thoughts about it together.
What parts do I actually consider important while setting up the routine?
The Priority list was (probably) the main change in FM24. It remains the same in FM26. It is how the roles are divided into their categories: Aerial ThreatBox Threat, Recovery Defender and Creators.
This list “determines which roles you think are the most important at each type of set piece. If one of your players, based on their Attributes, is ranked number one in more than one role, they’ll be assigned to the one that’s positioned higher in the priority list.”
The same as in FM24, tweaking this priority list can be crucial to your success within set pieces.
I like to have Creators set as the 1st choice while using short corner kick delivery because I want to “create something” rather than just pump the ball to the box. It’s nice to have good players as Aerial Threats, but they will hit trees behind the stand if they are set to lurk outside the area, and they will be allowed to shoot.
Or you can score something like this if your main creator decides to pass the ball to the near post, where the aerial threat is, and you’re confused a couple of days later because you see a central defender in the scoresheet and you are not sure if you finally scored from a near post routine.
Uploading another short corner kick goal for the needs of a new blog... 👀😎 #FM26 pic.twitter.com/jdGzbagvgq
— FM Rensie | Ondrej (@FMRensie) November 20, 2025
There’s an ideal example from my main FM26 save with Lokeren. My team scored six corner kick goals in the opening ten league matches and one corner kick goal in one domestic cup. All of them were scored after a short corner kick routine. The main creator - Radja Nainggolan - was set to Come short, and he was able to create something.
But two different players picked up injuries, and Radja moved to another role within the routines, including a corner taker. And we didn’t score for five or six matches as everything has changed in the set-up. The overall form of the team was good, I went through matches quickly, and it took me some time to realise why we are not so dangerous (and effective) from corner kicks.
I realised the rearranged priority list during one match, changed it and we were more dangerous after a couple of minutes just because Radja was the main creator again.
The goal I shared on Twitter recently is a great example of how it can work when the right players are set correctly and in their best possible roles.
A short corner kick like from a textbook 👌🏻 #FM26 pic.twitter.com/S8P1PC4hE4
— FM Rensie | Ondrej (@FMRensie) November 19, 2025
Routine frequency can also be very useful and very important. If you use more than just one routine, of course.
The routine frequency is another change/improvement from FM24, and it decides which routine will be used more often, on average or less frequently. You can change the frequency manually whenever you want. Just hit the button with the routine name and click on the “Modify Routine Frequencies” option. [There’s a bug in FM26, as you can click on all the options within the pop-up and it behaves incorrectly - it wasn’t fixed while writing this post on Thursday, 20th November]
I mentioned the near post routine earlier in the post. I have two main corner kick routines in this save so far, but I didn’t score a single goal from the one with the near-post delivery. Maybe it’s because of not having good enough players in terms of the corners delivery, or the target players are not good enough to find the right place on the pitch. Or it’s a wrong setup overall.
But that’s why I found the routine frequency option very useful. I know my team is not good at taking the near-post corners right now, and I want to tweak the routine more. But I still want to stay dangerous thanks to the short corner kick routine. That’s why I (after a couple of clicks because of the mentioned bug) set to use the short routine more often and the near post average or less often.
Another fine short corner kick routine example, this time with more possession/touches and a lovely finish by the DLP.
I managed to record it in the end (not sure how many times I had to restart the game).
— FM Rensie | Ondrej (@FMRensie) November 15, 2025
Probably my best set piece goal of #FM26 so far... https://t.co/9PAqTOdC5n pic.twitter.com/b5PW36MEKw
Key attributes for creator roles. As Guido Merry mentioned in his post (and I’m sure he mentioned in the past too), the short routine is “…essentially a possession-based distribution choice. Instead of swinging a cross straight into a crowded box, you invite the defence to step forward and then exploit the spaces that appear. The goal isn’t always scored directly; instead, your aim is to create movement, disorganisation, and better angles for the next phase.”
I agree with him on this, and it leads me to another important part within my routines. We usually had five or six key attributes for a specific set piece player role in previous editions of the game. It has changed since FM24, and there are only three key attributes.
If I remember it right, these were for the come short role.
FM23 and older: Crossing, Dribbling, Passing, Technique, Anticipation and Decisions
Since FM24, it’s, unfortunately, more general. It’s not specifically to come short role, but there are key attributes for all creator roles overall. They are Long Shots, Technique, and Crossing.
I would surely rather use the Decision attribute here if you consider the Come Short role for all corner kick and free kick routines. If you’re using the short routines, the stay with taker role and come short role are crucial for your players will do straight after the routine is kicked off.
That means I ignore the Long Shots attribute in my head, and I try to select players who are good in Decision, Off The Ball and Anticipation. Good Composure and Flair attributes are a bonus. But that’s almost like searching for the perfect complete forward…
Sometimes, the possession/creative phase after a corner kick takes so long/many passes that the goal is not even counted as a corner kick goal in the end.
In the picture above, you can see Mohamed Soumaré and his “key” attributes. But his Off the Ball attribute is 12, and Anticipation is 11. Nothing spectacular, but good for the second tier. And it’s enough for him to read the game and space during the corner routine - exactly as in the video example above.
I try to have this in my head while creating short free-kick routines too. But that’s a different story, maybe for a different blog.
You can find the routine set up in the picture below.
[The set pieces design/layout was changed back for FM24, and there was one simple option to check attributes and selected players for each role within the pitch by clicking on the dot. Like a small preview. In FM26, this option doesn't work no matter what I try. I always have to click on the button to show the starting 11 in the upper right corner.
I'm not sure if it's a bug or an intentional thing. If it's how it should be, I would like to suggest taking the option of preview straight on the pitch back to the game.
Right now, you have to memorise who and where your players are selected, but it's really confusing, especially when you make changes in the line-up, and all your players move within the routines due to the priority lists.]
Thank you for reading, and thank you to everyone for supporting everyone else across social media or forum(s). You can follow me on Twitter or Bluesky. And you can find me in FM Slack, too.
What is FM Slack?
There were a lot of changes within many social media, including Twitter (now “X”), and it’s not the same as in the past. We can’t see many things due to the algorithm, weird preferences and many other reasons I don’t even want to know. There are many Discord servers, and I’m sure they are good and useful. But I will probably always be a bigger fan of Slack. Or, better worded, the Football Manager Slack. Feel free to join us with this link.