Tactics The Black Hawk 2026 - Work in Progress

[Black Hawk]

WORK IN PROGRESS

 

Hey guys!

I'm starting this thread to share the tests I've been doing in search of a new The Black Hawk versions for FMM26.

The match engine has changed a bit and offers new challenges. I started the game testing the version I developed for FMM24 and discovered that opponents now press differently and focus more on filling the inside of the pitch.

Although tests with last year's version yielded good results, both with Sporting and Man Utd, I noticed two main things: the team makes many more mistakes in the first phase of build-up (opponents are more intense in their pressing), which results in errors from our goalkeeper and defenders; and since The Black Hawk's version for FMM24 focused heavily on the inside game and opponents fill the central zone more, in many games it felt like we were hitting a wall.

I've tested some variations over the last few days to try and give the team more flexibility to look for other areas of the pitch and I've found a version that looks promising.

Please note that I am not yet certain if this is a final version. I have only done two tests, both during half a season, so I am not yet sure. I will have to test it more to gather more data and be more certain.

I am sharing this beta version, let's call it that, in case some of you guys want to play during the weekend and, if you guys want to take the opportunity to test it, I appreciate any feedback you can provide.

 

 

The system is the same as always, but this time I opted to change the roles in two positions: goalkeeper (change from Sweeper to Goalkeeper) and Center Backs (they stop being Ball Playing Defenders and become just Center Backs).

For those who can't see the images:

 

Attacking Line: FL (IF) - FC (PF) - FR (IF)

Midfielder Line: MC (B2B) - MC (B2B)

Defensive Midfielder Line: MD (RP)

Defensive Line: DL (WB) - DC (CB) - DC (CB) - DR (WB)

Goalkeeper: GK (G)

 

 

The shape is the same as last year tactic.

 

Team Mentality: Control

Width: Narrow

Passing Tempo: Normal

Creative Freedom: Expressive

 

 

Defensively, this time I propose a more aggressive tackling style. When it's time to present a final version, I will explain the reasons.

 

Defensive Line: High

Closing Down: All Over

Tackling: Commited

Offside Trap: Yes

Time Wasting: No

 

 

The biggest changes come in the attack. As I said, I felt that with last year's version of The Black Hawk we were hitting a wall too often due to the Passing Focus through the Center. I also wasn't very convinced by the Through Balls option, I still haven't figured out why, I'll have to analyze that in more detail.

For now, this is the game setup I'm testing.

 

Final Third: Work Into Box + Run At Defence

Passing Style: Short

Passing Focus: Mixed

Goalkeeper Distribution: Short

 

So, this is my first sketch in search of a final version of The Black Hawk that I liked.

I feel it's already a good plug & play version for those who don't want to bother too much with changes and just want to advance quickly in the game, but keep in mind this is NOT a cheat code! We are getting occasional upsets but the thing is, in the long run it keeps showing good results.

There will be occasional games where the team struggles a bit to score goals, there will be games where randomly all the defenders are uninspired and make mistake after mistake, but that also happened with The Black Hawk in FMM24 and with all the tactics.

Nevertheless, this beta version already allows you to get regular results as you can see later in this post in the two half tests I've done so far.

 

Regarding recommendations:

1) Preference for good Kicking for the goalkeeper, as I noticed they make more mistakes and many of the opportunities conceded in the tests came from bad passes by the goalkeepers (that's why I abandoned the idea of a Sweeper Keeper).

2) The center-backs should have good Pace and Aggression, these are essential (Aggression for quick reaction times to passes behind our defense, Pace to recover in time when the ball goes through behind our defenders). Aerial, Technique and Passing are good bonuses.

3) The Wing Backs should have Pace and Movement. Bonus points if they have good Dribbling, Crossing and Aggression.

4) The Roaming Playmaker has to be good with the ball as they will be key in the build-up, more than defensive duties. Technique, Movement, Passing and Stamina are the most important stats, with bonus points for Shooting, Tackling and especially Aggression (good Aggression helps when defending close to our on box, because our Center Backs will often leave their position and it comes in handy if our RP is fast to compensate them, so it's a huge bonus).

5) Box-to-box players need Movement, Stamina, Passing and Technique. It helps if they also have Shooting, Aggression, Decisions and Tackling.

6) Inside Forwards, in my opinion, need Movement, Pace and Shooting. Those are key. In addition, it will help if they have Dribbling, Passing and Crossing.

7) Pressing Forward works best if they have Movement, Aggression and Stamina (a Pressing Forward will run a lot throughout the game; I rarely ended up not having to substitute them during the second half). Big bonus for Aerial, Shooting and Pace. Bonus for Passing and Decisions.

 

Overall, there are some things that are transversal:

1) As this is a system designed to keep possession, the more Technique and Passing, the better.

2) As this is a system designed to quickly recover the ball when we lose it, the more Aggression, the better.

3) Since this is a system that requires a lot of movement, both with and without the ball, the more Movement and Stamina, the better.

 

I didn't change anything on defensive set pieces. On offensive set pieces, I resorted to the usual strategy of having the Pressing Forward attack the near post, one Center Back mark the goalkeeper, and the other Center Back attack the far post. It doesn't work as well as in FMM24, but it's still worth a few goals.

 

Also, please use the match preparation training. I'm mainly using Ball Retention when playing smaller opponents (or when it's suggested), Rest when playing really smaller teams that we should win easily and Transitions against better teams (to quickly improve the stats that help to press and recover the ball), but feel free to use others you guys may find better for your teams.

 

And that's it, for now that's all I can remember. If I remember anything else, I'll share it.

 

And I remind you: this is not a final version! It's a beta version that already gives good results, but it can still have a few tweaks to improve some aspects that I think deserve improvement.

 

Save Test #01: Sporting Clube de Portugal

 

I completed half a season with Sporting; it's the usual first test save I always do when I'm looking to develop a tactic and it's intended to test it in a top team.

 

 

 

As you can see, it went very well. Made 17 games, won 16 and the only draw in the Portuguese League was against FC Porto (away), otherwise we won all the games.

I won't hide the fact that there were three or four games that were close calls, either because the games were evenly matched, or because we only scored near the end, but overall this beta version was quite efficient.

In the Champions League we won five games and lost one (against Man City at home). Among the victories are away games against Villarreal (though game!) and Napoli (this one could easily have been lost; along with the home game against Man City, these were the only two games where I felt we were outclassed).

I won the Supercup and the League Cup. In the Portuguese Cup we are in the Semi-Finals of the competition, I still didn't advance beyond that.

The individual statistics are what is usual in previous versions of The Black Hawk, nothing special to report in that aspect.

 

Save Test #02: Amora Futebol Clube

 

Amora is the team from my hometown. They were promoted back to the Portuguese 3rd tier last season and have an unbalanced squad. They have a handful of good players for their size, but otherwise the overall quality is poor (in the test save with Sporting, AI Amora finished last in their league).

It's the ideal team to test the tactic, both because it's a team I love and because it's an opportunity to test this on an underdog.

 

 

And as you can see, respectable results. We ended the first phase of Liga 3 top of the tablet with a team that at their very best should be midtable.

Here we had some games where we behaved like a big team, dominating and even winning by a large margin.

We had perhaps three or four games where we were simply outclassed, but that's to be expected when you have players who are much weaker than some opponents.

In most games we were slightly superior or slightly inferior, those games ended up being evenly matched, which is normal because this Amora team is below the average of its league.

I don't know if I got lucky with these results, but overall the results were good and I was satisfied with what I saw from this beta version in an underdog.

 

When I can, I will complete these two test saves (and I will share the results here) and I will do at least a third test save with a midtable Premier League team similar to those I did for FMM23 (Wolves) and FMM24 (Brighton).

 

If you are curious enough to test it, please give feedback and, above all, I hope you have fun because that's why I put this work into it

Edited November 7 by Black Hawk

[HudsonOfSmeg]

Just FYI, imgur has been blocked in the UK so a lot of us (myself included) will be unable to see your screenshots 😞

[Black Hawk]

3 minutes ago, HudsonOfSmeg said:

Just FYI, imgur has been blocked in the UK so a lot of us (myself included) will be unable to see your screenshots 😞

Uh, THAT'S why people keep saying they couldn't see my prints.

OK, in time I will try other option and change the post.

Thanks for your help 😀

Edited November 7 by Black Hawk

[wlochhhhh]

Hi, I'll try this tactic against Piast Gliwice from my hometown. I'll see how a mid-table team from a weaker league does. I'll let you know the final result.💪

[Black Hawk]

Changed the hosting site, can you guys already see the prints?

added 0 minutes later

16 minutes ago, wlochhhhh said:

Hi, I'll try this tactic against Piast Gliwice from my hometown. I'll see how a mid-table team from a weaker league does. I'll let you know the final result.💪

Looking forward to it. Good luck 😃

[wlochhhhh]

It's also a bit difficult to play because Piast has few reserve players and poor facilities, but I'll try to do something, I've also disabled transfers for the first season so as not to turn this team into another one

[mattyflex]

Your majesty, I have been waiting for this since it dropped. I am super excited to try it out so I can start winning games 😅

[arita]

Awww, i cant see the picture 😌

[Zoro.too]

The tactics is too good worked great for me till now for Napoli .(Still in the mid season)

[panosrodo]

Hi guys. I have tried the new version in Greece with olympiakos, with medium results. I think that the older version is more stable in 2026. Keep the good work black hawk I am a huge fan of your work. Can't wait for the next better tactic. 🙂🙂

[jumanji fm]

Sporting is among the top three strongest teams in Portugal. When testing a tactic, try it with a team from the lower part of the table, and you’ll get a realistic picture of its quality. Otherwise, the tactic is worthless

[Black Hawk]

I'm doing a quick run with Crystal Palace, good overall results but not happy with our attacking prowess. I'm repeting several times the same game with small changes to see how they change how we attack.

Right know, ticking off Run At Defence seems to make the team more fluid and unpredictable on the final third - at least against Brighton at home 😅

[wlochhhhh]

I have the same problem with goals, I don't concede many goals after 8 rounds, I've conceded 2 goals at most and scored 4 times, and 2 goals all the time, and the results are not that impressive at the moment, but 

[wlochhhhh]

The club is not that good either, maybe that's why set pieces are going well, I also have a problem with a striker who scored 1 goal quickly in 12 matches, I don't know, and the other substitute didn't score anything 

added 0 minutes later

I also have a question about what I could change the attacker's role to or what I could improve because maybe it's my fault

[wlochhhhh]

[mattyflex]

2 hours ago, Black Hawk said:

I'm doing a quick run with Crystal Palace, good overall results but not happy with our attacking prowess. I'm repeting several times the same game with small changes to see how they change how we attack.

Right know, ticking off Run At Defence seems to make the team more fluid and unpredictable on the final third - at least against Brighton at home 😅

I did a full season with Palace and I struggled. I'm a few games into a season with Atletico Madrid and still seem to be struggling. Feel like I am almost always chasing the game, and not really creating as many chances as I did using it in 24. Lots of 1-1 or 2-2 draws. I'll try off-ticking the RAD setting and see how that changes things. 

[Black Hawk]

It's bugging me on this save test with Palace how players are not doing simple things they used to do on FMM24.

For example, I use a Roaming Playmaker for him to give passing options to his teammates. But, for some reason, this year my CBs and WBs do not pass him the ball even when they have that chance, ending up playing long balls when I have short passing selected. This results in lose of possession and often in scoring chances for our opponents.

Other example is my goalkeepers always shooting the ball ahead when I instruct them to do short distribution. These are always balls that we lose.

I'm still trying to figure out why, but I have to say I'm kinda lost.

Otherwise, I'm currently leading Premier League with eleven games played, but there are some games where nothing works and I hate to not being able to figure out why because it feels kinda random.

Edited November 8 by Black Hawk

[ur78dhue3h]

In match preperation unit there is goalkeeper defender and attacker

Do you change any of those? Or just leave it default?

And Does changing the unit make the player behave differently in a match

 

Btw sorry for my bad english

[mattyflex]

2 hours ago, Black Hawk said:

For example, I use a Roaming Playmaker for him to give passing options to his teammates. But, for some reason, this year my CBs and WBs do not pass him the ball even when they have that chance, ending up playing long balls when I have short passing selected. This results in lose of possession and often in scoring chances for our opponents.

Just the slightest of issues I'm running into, but, are your mids making it up the field to support the attack? Mine seem to be drifting behind. Granted, palace has players that play palace-ball, I can't seem to get any of them involved on offense. 

[Alexdesouza10]

Do you use the corner kick tactic? İf yes, can you share?

[iXfeirce]

5 hours ago, Black Hawk said:

It's bugging me on this save test with Palace how players are not doing simple things they used to do on FMM24.

For example, I use a Roaming Playmaker for him to give passing options to his teammates. But, for some reason, this year my CBs and WBs do not pass him the ball even when they have that chance, ending up playing long balls when I have short passing selected. This results in lose of possession and often in scoring chances for our opponents.

Other example is my goalkeepers always shooting the ball ahead when I instruct them to do short distribution. These are always balls that we lose.

I'm still trying to figure out why, but I have to say I'm kinda lost.

Otherwise, I'm currently leading Premier League with eleven games played, but there are some games where nothing works and I hate to not being able to figure out why because it feels kinda random.

@Marc VaughanIs there maybe a known bug that is causing simple mistakes like mentioned above? 

[Marc Vaughan]

11 minutes ago, iXfeirce said:

@Marc VaughanIs there maybe a known bug that is causing simple mistakes like mentioned above? 

I'll keep an eye on this - in the main players should obey instructions HOWEVER some players (notably low ability/decisions) will tend to hoof the ball out of defense if they're under pressure because they don't have time to pick a pass ... its either that or they dwell on it and lose the ball (which is even worse when that happens imho).

Finally which highlights are you watching the match on? - it tries to show interesting clips, so it might be that your players are doing a lot of short passing ... but its coming to nothing so its showing other clips.

Edited November 8 by Marc Vaughan

[iXfeirce]

33 minutes ago, Marc Vaughan said:

I'll keep an eye on this - in the main players should obey instructions HOWEVER some players (notably low ability/decisions) will tend to hoof the ball out of defense if they're under pressure because they don't have time to pick a pass ... its either that or they dwell on it and lose the ball (which is even worse when that happens imho).

Finally which highlights are you watching the match on? - it tries to show interesting clips, so it might be that your players are doing a lot of short passing ... but its coming to nothing so its showing other clips.

@Black Hawk best you answer this? I have not played the game (yet). And I know you already tested with multiple saves, even great sides who in my opinion do have great decisions.

has the goalkeeper denying the team instructions (playing short) also has to do with his ability / decisions?

Edited November 8 by iXfeirce

[DanEnglish]

9 minutes ago, iXfeirce said:

has the goalkeeper denying the team instructions (playing short) also has to do with his ability / decisions?

6 hours ago, Black Hawk said:

Other example is my goalkeepers always shooting the ball ahead when I instruct them to do short distribution. These are always balls that we lose.

Something I noticed with the black hawk 4123 tactic on FMM23 was that sometimes the GK didn’t have good passing options from the back

• Against an opposition 2x striker formation (e.g. a 442) - both our DCs would be marked + both WBs can be positioned too high up for a short pass
• This also could be true when the opposition played a 1x ST and 1x SS formation - and they had just been closing down our players before a back-pass to our GK (I.e. they still have a front 2)
• Otherwise against an opposition single striker it should be ok to pass to one of our DCs … but 🤷 

Tactical Options:

One option against an opposition single striker formation is to use 1x or 2x Wide DCs (instead of BPDs) - so they move wider apart making it an easier short pass for your GK (like irl)

An alternative option would be to change one WB to a FB or even a DFB - so there’s an extra easy wide passing option for your GK (who hasn’t moved too far forward)

Just brainstorming some potential solutions 🤷 

[Burn]

FM24 version performs better

[Black Hawk]

I appreciate all the help and feedback I received, I will respond to you when I have time - weekend responsibilities leave me with almost no free time.

I'll just take this opportunity to share an interesting fact that comes from the tests I did last night.

As I said, I repeated the same game several times (at home against Brighton). With the tactic from the first post, I was having immense difficulty creating goal-scoring opportunities and maintaining possession.

I removed the Run at Defense option and suddenly I started to dominate. I repeated the same game some 10/15 times (I Lost count) and won them all, sometimes clearly, other times more balanced and close, but it was a clear change for the better.

But in the next game (away against Wolves), the same tactic was completely defeated. I played the same game five times, and I was outclassed in all of them.

And here I have to congratulate @Marc Vaughan because I decided to watch the game at low speed and the way the AI tries to break the creation of our plays is fabulous. There was a play where Lacroix had the ball (one of my Centre Backs) and I even paused the game to confirm, all the other players were man-to-man marked. Lacroix was left to play with the goalkeeper and he kicked it forward. It's as @DanEnglish said, there is a lack of options to play out from the back.

So, I decided to test the 343 I made with The Black Hawk version of FMM24 to see the difference with more options to play out from the back, I repeated the game five times.

Here are the results.

 

 

Once again, a clear change for the better. More possession in every game, in four of them with more clear cut chances or a huge superiority in shots. Four wins in five games where with the traditional 4-1-2-3 I was crushed.

Of course we weren't great, the tactic needs refining, but the team was more solid.

So, I've already figured out how to counter Brighton and Wolves, but the problem remains because maybe in the next game none of the tactics will work because the opponent will play differently.

Once again, congratulations to @Marc Vaughan for making the game more challenging - and for giving me headaches... many headaches.

What I took away from these two games was that the opponents mark man-to-man and make it almost impossible to play short from the back.

@Pinuccio is right when he said that the game is calling for a more defensive tactic with direct play in the style of counter-attack - this allows you to get around the tight marking that the opponents now do all over the field.

The problem for me is that I like my team to control the ball and dictate the tempo of the game. That's why I'm going to keep trying to find a way to play that way that works... much to my dismay.

[panosrodo]

So we have a new version to test? What about the rest instructions ?

[saccsasca]

44 minutes ago, Black Hawk said:

I appreciate all the help and feedback I received, I will respond to you when I have time - weekend responsibilities leave me with almost no free time.

I'll just take this opportunity to share an interesting fact that comes from the tests I did last night.

As I said, I repeated the same game several times (at home against Brighton). With the tactic from the first post, I was having immense difficulty creating goal-scoring opportunities and maintaining possession.

I removed the Run at Defense option and suddenly I started to dominate. I repeated the same game some 10/15 times (I Lost count) and won them all, sometimes clearly, other times more balanced and close, but it was a clear change for the better.

But in the next game (away against Wolves), the same tactic was completely defeated. I played the same game five times, and I was outclassed in all of them.

And here I have to congratulate @Marc Vaughan because I decided to watch the game at low speed and the way the AI tries to break the creation of our plays is fabulous. There was a play where Lacroix had the ball (one of my Centre Backs) and I even paused the game to confirm, all the other players were man-to-man marked. Lacroix was left to play with the goalkeeper and he kicked it forward. It's as @DanEnglish said, there is a lack of options to play out from the back.

So, I decided to test the 343 I made with The Black Hawk version of FMM24 to see the difference with more options to play out from the back, I repeated the game five times.

Here are the results.

 

 

Once again, a clear change for the better. More possession in every game, in four of them with more clear cut chances or a huge superiority in shots. Four wins in five games where with the traditional 4-1-2-3 I was crushed.

Of course we weren't great, the tactic needs refining, but the team was more solid.

So, I've already figured out how to counter Brighton and Wolves, but the problem remains because maybe in the next game none of the tactics will work because the opponent will play differently.

Once again, congratulations to @Marc Vaughan for making the game more challenging - and for giving me headaches... many headaches.

What I took away from these two games was that the opponents mark man-to-man and make it almost impossible to play short from the back.

@Pinuccio is right when he said that the game is calling for a more defensive tactic with direct play in the style of counter-attack - this allows you to get around the tight marking that the opponents now do all over the field.

The problem for me is that I like my team to control the ball and dictate the tempo of the game. That's why I'm going to keep trying to find a way to play that way that works... much to my dismay.

dude, ur tactics is working wonders, look at what im doing 😭 

[Simbo11]

3 minutes ago, saccsasca said:

dude, ur tactics is working wonders, look at what im doing 😭 

The three at the back?

Edited November 8 by Simbo11

[saccsasca]

Just now, Simbo11 said:

The three at the back

no it’s the normal one, the 4-3-3