Sir Alex Ferguson's early Manchester United
in Football Manager 2024 (Part I)
Sir Alex Ferguson forged an unprecedented and unparalleled Manchester United dynasty, rebuilding the club from the ground up and dominating the Premier League for two decades.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United dynasty consisted of not only one but three great teams.
Cantona era (Part I)
Class of ‘92 era (Part II)
Cristiano Ronaldo era (Part III)
This post will cover the Cantona era (Part I), and later posts will cover the Class of ‘92 (Part II) and Cristiano Ronaldo (Part III) eras.
The Cantona era
Eric Cantona is the definition of a transformative signing.
When Cantona joined in November 1992, Manchester United had not won a First Division title in 26 years.
Cantona left Manchester United five years later as a Premier League great, having won four out of the last five Premier League titles, including two league and FA Cup doubles.
Sir Alex Ferguson evolved the Manchester United team around Eric Cantona, laying the foundation for the class of ‘92.
Sir Alex Ferguson's Tactical Principles
Sir Alex Ferguson established tactical principles that would remain constant as the team evolved.
Sir Alex Ferguson preferred a slightly asymmetrical 4-4-2 formation consisting of:
A direct winger and reserved fullback on the left flank
A wide midfielder and an overlapping fullback on the right flank
Offset strikers; one typical Centre Forward and a free Second Striker
..in Football Manager 2024
Sir Alex Ferguson’s tactical approach was simple and balanced; a fairly neutral style of play - predating modern ideas about build-up, possession, and pressing - focused on platforming talented players and a devastating counter-attack.
Expansive
A Balanced team mentality, combined with mostly Support duties, creates an expansive, balanced, and compact individual mentality structure, ensuring every player attacks and defends collectively as a team.
Readers not yet familiar with the concept of ‘mentality’ can learn more below.
👑 King Eric 👑
Sir Alex Ferguson platformed Eric Cantona perfectly, playing a free role as a Second Striker, floating off a more traditional Centre Forward.
This system showcases an example of adapting a very simple and balanced system to platform an exceptionally talented player without disrupting the balance or structure of the team.
The Shadow Striker - should be called Second Striker - plays a free role, off the Centre Forward, and can be an incredible goalscorer in the right context.
Finding players with the ‘Cantona’ profile is easier said than done; you’ll want extremely high overall ability, leadership, determination, flair, and - of course - aggression.
Despite Manchester United’s current troubles, Bruno Fernandes is one of the closest profiles in the current game.
Could you use him to galvanise Manchester United back to former glory?
Player Instructions
GK Goalkeeper (Defend): None
DR Fullback (Attack): None
DC Central Defender (Defend): None
DC Central Defender (Defend): None
DL Fullback (Support): None
MR Wide Midfielder (Support): Sit Narrower
CM Central Midfielder (Defend): None
CM Box-to-Box Midfielder (Support): None
ML Winger (Support): Take More Risks, Roam from Position
AM Shadow Striker (Attack): Roam from Position
ST Complete Forward (Support): None
Thank you
Thank you - as always - for reading and supporting my writing; I hope you enjoy and find something useful to take into your own games.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United is a wonderful example of simplicity and balance, and using tactics to platform an extremely talented superstar.
Later posts will cover the Class of ‘92 and the Cristiano Ronaldo era.
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