META ATTRIBUTES FOR TOTAL DOMINATION IN A PRESSING SYSTEM

Good day everyone, so After thorough research and match testing here are the meta attributes that are major priorities needed in football manager mobile 

Every observations here is made on the engine of the game and not in contrary to real life.

GK: AERIAL, AGILITY, POSITIONING, REFLEX

CD: AERIAL PACE, STRENGTH

WB/FB: PACE, STAMINA, DRIBBLING 

CM/DM: PACE,STAMINA,TEAMWORK, DRIBBLING (optional)

AM: PACE,STAMINA(optional), DRIBBLING 

IF/W:PACE,STAMINA(optional), DRIBBLING 

ST: PACE,STAMINA ,TEAMWORK

 For the Attacking roles I believe it can be selected to your taste or type of players but for the midfield and defense it necessary for your players to have such attributes 

Observations after testing in top leagues: 

1. I noticed that we passed the ball well even when the team passing ability was average or below average.MORE passes were completed.

Before this i usually attain roughly 250 approx. Now we having close 300+ passes completed 

2. We pressed well after losing ball possession and recover quickly on the counter attack 

3. We played better scored more goals 

4. All you need are these as the major priority when signing a player the rest are bonuses

5. It worked for smaller teams with players that have this attributes 

6. This attributes are tweaked to work for most tactical approach 

N/B: This is based on my research and for learning purposes 

 

You can try if you want to but after this I'm not sure you would feel the real immersion of football manager again. 

Funny how I used to be a fan of technique and mental attributes 😂

I'm working on a save I'll update you when I'm done.

Cheers🍻

Here are my Observations:

*"In the continuation of my observation, in a pressing system, I found out that those attributes listed above are essential. Having attributes lower than that or less than 12+ gives less performance for a pressing system."*

 

*"After going through one of the members' observations, decision-making was crowned as key. But in my own observations, physical attributes are actually more important than decision-making to me. Note, decision-making should not be neglected too, but physicals attributes are actually the most important."*

Note: Decisions 12+ is valid for any player 

Here are my Observations for the CDs

1. Tackling for the CDs are overrated. If you are not physical enough you won't be able to win the ball back effectively. 

A. How fast you are to mark the opponent on the ball and how quick you are to recover after he's gone past you that's why PACE is Key.

 

B. How Strong you are to deal with Strong Forwards and not get bully easily why STRENGTH is Key 

 

C. How good in the air are you to deal with Strikers who are good in the air 

 

D. Stamina is also needed it just how long you can keep up with the opponent defenders. I Chose this as optional for the CDs having tested defenders with 11+ STAMINA players and they worked well

 

E. Bonus attribute needed how tough are you on the opponent this is why Aggression is also relevant but not key to me 

 

WHY ARE TACKLING AND POSITIONING NOT SO IMPORTANT 

1. When the Player is out of Position he needs Pace to recover and if he's not fast enough to recover the positioning then the opposition runs through him

       

        Have ever wondered even players in the right position the opponent keeps beating them off the ball like a player with 16+ positioning who's slow get beaten by Strikers who are 12+ pace and not so good movement. Those who use smaller teams will understand.

 

2. For a successful Tackle the player must have the right pace, strength, and aerial even aggression as the are the supportive attributes for a successful Tackle

 

For the WB/FB I don't need to explain why STAMINA, PACE and TEAMWORK are important for a WB/FB

 

 

Observations for the DM/CM

1. STAMINA and TEAMWORK as workrate to keep in the tempo of the game and not get caught out . Makes them mobile to cover and support whenever they are needed. Helps them follow tactical instructions 

2. PACE is also important to cover grounds on the counter and mobile to provide support 

3. Positioning (bonus) this helps in how long your player can stay in position when defending but if you have most of the ball not really needed

 

For the attackers previously I said PACE, STAMINA DRIBBLING it also valid.

But if they get the ball what do they do with the ball. 

For the attackers I'll Pick

DRIBBLING, CREATIVITY as the main

focus before any other attributes 

Here is a save I'm working 

You would see the that we lack Decision making as a squad but we still performing. You'll also see we don't have the passing ability that meet this divisionHalf way through the season and look how we are doing . 

Edited July 25, 2025 by Arkle
Update of information

[MegaBoi]

This is a great observation, Although your striker will need good shooting for More competitive league like EPL or La Liga IMO.

[Arkle]

1 minute ago, MegaBoi said:

This is a great observation, Although your striker will need good shooting for More competitive league like EPL or La Liga IMO.

Yes that's why I said your attackers are picked to your taste 

[MegaBoi]

1 hour ago, Arkle said:

Yes that's why I said your attackers are picked to your taste 

Ohh I missed that one,

[gorp]

how about movement and decisions?

i once see a post where they upgrades each attributes for one season each on bournemouth and then compare the results, the test with decisions upgraded got the most avg points 

[MegaBoi]

4 hours ago, gorp said:

how about movement and decisions?

i once see a post where they upgrades each attributes for one season each on bournemouth and then compare the results, the test with decisions upgraded got the most avg points 

That was a recent post, I forget the name of the conducter but that was one hell of a test.

In test it turned out that Decision is more important than Movement, so yeah now we know that ....

Edited July 12, 2025 by MegaBoi

[jon78]

5 hours ago, gorp said:

how about movement and decisions?

i once see a post where they upgrades each attributes for one season each on bournemouth and then compare the results, the test with decisions upgraded got the most avg points 

The post you mentioned may refer to this post by RiverToad 

 

[MegaBoi]

Just now, jon78 said:

The post you mentioned may refer to this post by RiverToad 

 

Yeah, That's the post I was talking about, A great test.

[jon78]

2 hours ago, MegaBoi said:

That was a recent post, I forget the name of the conducter but that was one hell of a test.

In test it turned out that Decision is more important than Movement, so yeah now we know that ....

 

On 29/12/2013 at 20:53, AlexP said:

I'm with Dec I don't sign a CB with poor decisions. When I search for a CB, decision is just as important as the defensive stats. For example Think Titus Bramble IRL. Strong, quick, good in the air and tackling, but often made mistakes. I don't want that type of CB.

 

On decisions for midfielders. I always look for all my central players, the spine of my team to have good decision making. I've always bought players that way. I think of my CM's as the brain of my team.

 

[DanEnglish]

Can you explain / share / show us your research, i.e. how did you come to these conclusions 🙂 

[jon78]

4 hours ago, DanEnglish said:

Can you explain / share / show us your research, i.e. how did you come to these conclusions 🙂 

🎯 Mental Attribute Spotlight: DECISION in Football ⚽️
Coach Quotes:

"Football is simple, but it is difficult to play simple." — Arsène Wenger

"The best decision is the right decision at the right time." — Jürgen Klopp

"Talent wins games, but smart decisions win championships." — Anonymous Coach

Sport Science View:
Research shows elite footballers have faster and more accurate decision-making skills, which strongly correlate with success on the pitch (Williams, Ford & Drust, 2020). Quick cognitive processing lets players analyze complex situations and pick the best option under pressure.

Gamer Perspective:
Decision-making is like mastering a real-time strategy game — split-second choices affect whether you win or lose. Knowing when to pass, shoot, or hold is critical, just like in gaming.

My Perspective:
Decision-making is the mental skill that connects physical and technical ability. Even with top speed and technique, a player’s impact depends on doing the right thing at the right time. It’s not just what you can do physically, but when and how you do it that makes the difference.

[jon78]

 

[hsyncn9]

Teşekkürler gerçekten çok işime yaradı

[Arkle]

On 13/07/2025 at 09:04, jon78 said:

🎯 Mental Attribute Spotlight: DECISION in Football ⚽️
Coach Quotes:

"Football is simple, but it is difficult to play simple." — Arsène Wenger

"The best decision is the right decision at the right time." — Jürgen Klopp

"Talent wins games, but smart decisions win championships." — Anonymous Coach

Sport Science View:
Research shows elite footballers have faster and more accurate decision-making skills, which strongly correlate with success on the pitch (Williams, Ford & Drust, 2020). Quick cognitive processing lets players analyze complex situations and pick the best option under pressure.

Gamer Perspective:
Decision-making is like mastering a real-time strategy game — split-second choices affect whether you win or lose. Knowing when to pass, shoot, or hold is critical, just like in gaming.

My Perspective:
Decision-making is the mental skill that connects physical and technical ability. Even with top speed and technique, a player’s impact depends on doing the right thing at the right time. It’s not just what you can do physically, but when and how you do it that makes the difference.

You're right taking it from a real life perspective this is a game and this is viewed from the gaming engine pov. Let's be honest football manager 24 mobile is dope but not realistic as everyone puts it so comparing instances from real life to the game doesn't work. I do not in any way put other attributes to be disregard but I chose those that are most important to my Observations

[Arkle]

On 13/07/2025 at 04:48, DanEnglish said:

Can you explain / share / show us your research, i.e. how did you come to these conclusions 🙂 

You can as well start by experimenting a team with High mental attributes vs a team with high physical attributes. Run them a season with any club of your choice in the EPL as I feel it very competitive. And see as they perform and come back and share your observations. 

Would love to do that again but school is in session and I'm busy. Might as well put it on the platform as a challenge and see the results everyone comes up with.

[DankAsFzzz]

I know this topic is old but I would love to see a similar one for fm 26 at some point 👉 👈

Edited December 13, 2025 by DankAsFzzz