Succession Planning
Sustaining long-term success in Football Manager 2024
Seamlessly replacing club legends enables sustained long-term success and builds great teams into dynasties that transcend individual teams or players - no matter how iconic - to rewrite football history.
Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United Dynasty
Sir Alex Ferguson famously rebuilt Manchester United from the ground up, first scaling the Premier League summit during the Eric Cantona era, conquering Europe with the “Class of ‘92”, and achieving arguably new heights with Cristiano Ronaldo, Rooney & co., resulting in the greatest managerial dynasty in football history.
Replacing the Irreplaceable
As fans, we often default to like-for-like replacements but in the case of unique - even generational - talents, by definition, a true like-for-like replacement is unlikely to exist, or if so, the player replaced is not the unique, generational talent we thought.
A direct ‘King Eric’ replacement would have needed to be a world-class Second Striker, a Captain, a goalscorer, and an icon, playing at the level of an all-time Premier League great.
With the Class of ‘92, Manchester United evolved into a new team while retaining the same collective identity. Eric Cantona was replaced ‘in-the-aggregate’ across the team; Roy Keane became the captain, Yorke & Cole the goalscorers, and Giggs, Beckham, and Scholes became the icons, and on Sir Alex Ferguson’s Manchester United marched, without missing a beat.
Replacing Declan Rice
Having held the base of Arsenal’s midfield for virtually every key game for well over a decade, Declan Rice retired from football and joined Arsenal academy coaching staff in summer 2036.
My loose long-term plan was that Myles would take the reins at the base of the midfield, ably supported by Ayyoub Bouaddi.
Playing Myles at the base of midfield opens up a midfield spot for a more attacking profile, potentially giving us two ‘Number 10s’; my personal favourite midfield dynamic.
Preparing for the Unthinkable
Bukayo Saka remains at an elite level, having just won his 6th Ballon d’Or but is starting to show signs of physical decline.
At 35 years young, Bukayo Saka remains technically and mentally outstanding, but is gradually losing his pace, agility, acceleration, etc.
Time has come to move him off the wing to get the best out of his final years.
Also at 35 years old, Jurriën Timber similarly remains one of the best in the world but his physical attributes no longer reflect the marauding, all-action wingback he was during his prime years.
Therefore, in addition to replacing Declan Rice at the base of midfield, we must also consider reworking the right flank to maximise Bukayo Saka & Jurriën Timber.
Generational Talent
The final - this time unexpected development - was Paris Saint-Germain producing a live-wire attacking talent, Théo Léon.
At 18 years old, Léon exploded into international football, firing France to the 2036 European Championship with 9 goals and outscoring Ethan Nwaneri and Max Dowman.
Without a release clause or any kind of contractual negotiating point, we had to flex our financial muscles, shattering all transfer records - including Neymar to PSG - signing Léon for a staggering £214m.
The Next Generation
The solution? Surprisingly simple. Natural wingers; high and wide.
High & wide wingers platforms our squad in a few key ways:
Saka to move inside and complete his career as a False 9
Nwaneri to drop into midfield alongside Dowman, operating as two ‘Number 10s’
Timber & Nkoumo invert to support Myles in midfield
The downside, Léon will start his life at Arsenal playing in the wide channels. However, with Saka having turned 35 years old, Léon can adapt to the Premier League outside of the spotlight before fully taking the reins in a season or two.
Anchors (⚓️) and Floaters (🛟)
The system naturally forms a very Guardiola-esq, positional 2-3-5 however this is more by coincidence of creating a suitable platform for the most talented players in the squad.
The system was actually designed with the Anchors (⚓️) & Floaters (🛟) framework - coined by @saundzo - in mind.
Anchors ⚓️
Saliba, Thijsen, Timber, Nkoumo (and Myles) rest defence
Wingers provide attacking width
Floaters 🛟
Saka, Max, Ethan, and Myles form a fluid midfield diamond
Dowman, Nwaneri, and Saka enter their final act..
Player Instructions
GK Sweeper Keeper (Support): None
DR Inverted Wingback (Support): None
DC Ball-Playing Defender (Defend): None
DC Ball-Playing Defender (Cover): None
DL Inverted Wingback (Support): None
DM Defensive Midfielder (Defend): None
CM Mezzala (Support): Dribble more, Take Risks, Shoot more
CM Advanced Playmaker (Support): Dribble more, Roam from Position
AMR Inverted Winger (Support): Stay Wide, Get Forward, Cross less
AML Inverted Winger (Support): Stay Wide, Get Forward, Cross less
ST False 9 (Support): Roam from Position
Thank you
Thank you very much - as always - for reading and supporting my writing. I hope you enjoyed reading and find some inspiration to take into your own saves.
Of course, Football Manager 2026 is now just around the corner and I am really enjoying the existing save. Hoping to make it all the way through to Saka’s retirement ahead of the new game, but let’s see what happens!
👇 Download Link 👇
Download link for paid subscribers as a special thank you for generously supporting my writing below:
