FM20 Team Guide & Tactic - Everton

Here is a brief FM20 team guide of the Everton squad, their club structure, relationship any potential managers will have with the board, expectations and possible tactics any FM manager can use in his Football Manager 2020 save.

Here is a brief FM20 team guide of the Everton squad, their club structure, relationship any potential managers will have with the board, expectations and possible tactics any FM manager can use.

About the club

Everton are an average mid table team, they are fairly consistent and finish in the top half of the PL table almost always. Even in history, Everton hold the record for the most consecutive top flight appearances (116). However, they are always in the shadow of their more popular Merseyside rivals Liverpool. Can you as a manager take a consistent mid table side like Everton to greater heights?

The board's expectations

The Everton board are fairly relaxed when it comes to demands, their requirements are;

1. A top half finish in the league table.
2. Making the 5th round of the FA Cup.

It's desired that you play an entertaining style of football. However, having spent heavily on player transfers already and having plans for a new stadium, the Everton budget for transfers and wages will be very minimal, £10m reserved for transfers and a wage budget of £110k. The club are also heavily in debt.

Everton however do have decent training facilities and a good youth set up which will churn out the occasional gem. These are some of the areas that you need to develop right away once you take over as manager.

Squad, Formation and Tactical Style

The Evertonian squad is quite deep and has quality players for most positions making the club demand of a top table finish easily doable. You will have to strive a bit harder if you want to go that extra mile and achieve European qualification with Everton in you FM20 save.

There are quite a few tactical setups you could deploy with Everton, however a controlled possession type of football for most home games and a fluid counter attacking style for away games should be your go-to.

A 4-2-3-1 is typically the most ideal formation for Everton and you can use this formation for both home and away games just altering the player mentality depending on the opponents.

A rough example of what your line-up would look like in a 4-2-3-1 formation is as follows;

• Jordan Pickford as a sweeper keeper
• Seamus Coleman & Lucas Digne as fullbacks. Digne is especially good at crossing and from set plays, so increasing his crossing instructions should be ideal.
• Michael Keane & Yerry Mina as the centre backs with the former being played as a ball playing defender
• Fabian Delph as the holding midfielder, partnered by Andre Gomes as a deep lying playmaker with either support or defend Duty
• Richarlison as an inside forward from the right wing and Bernard as a winger from the left wing
• Gylfi Sigurdsson as the Attacking Midfielder, No:10.
• Moise Kean as a defensive forward or a deep lying forward with high pressing instructions.

If you want a more attack minded lineup you can bring in Theo Walcott on the right wing and drop Bernard from your lineup.

Key Players

1. Gylfi Sigurdsson



Sigurdsson is a pass master and a seasoned professional. His quality of passing and in creating chances will be vital for your season. He is also an expert in free-kicks.

2. Lucas Digne



Digne’s crossing quality is second to none. The Frenchman is also a major threat with his precise corners and freekicks.

3. Richarlison



Although just 21, is an accomplished PL star. He is very versatile and can be deployed in multiple attacking positions with devastating results.

Weaknesses

1. The strikers do not have high goal ratios and are used as pressers to win the ball the back quickly. This is an area you may need to invest in if you want goals.
2. The backup central defenders are not of high quality and may get run over if the starters pick up injuries.
3. With a small budget it is not very easy to pick up quality options for a few vacant positions and also makes it difficult to attract high profile players.

Youngsters to keep an eye on

There are a few exciting young prospects in the ranks who have the potential to be some of the best players in the league. A few examples are;

• Beni Baningime (CDM)
• Ademola Lookman (AMC, AMR, AML)
• Tom Davies (CM)

FM20 Everton Team Guide - Summary

To summarise, Everton is a solid base for most FM Managers. With more than a decent squad and relaxed board requirements, most managers should be able to handle this with ease. The challenge however, lies in taking Everton to the next step. Can you be the one who does it?