Football Manager 2021 Wolverhampton 3-5-2 Tactic | Team Guide | FM21

Wolverhampton Football Manager 2021 tactic and team guide. Club culture, tactics, key players, youth prospects and potential transfers in FM21.

Wolverhampton Football Manager 2021 tactic and team guide. Club culture and board requirements, tactics, key players, youth prospects and potential transfers.

Here is a brief analysis of the Wolves squad, their club structure, relationship any potential managers will have with the board, expectations and possible tactics any FM 2021 player can use.

About Wolverhampton 

Wolverhampton Wanderers Football Club known as Wolves is a professional association football club based in the city of Wolverhampton in the West Midlands, England. Formed as St. Luke's F.C. in 1877, the club has played at Molineux Stadium since 1889 and has been competing in the Premier League, the top division of English football, since winning promotion in 2018. 

The 2020–21 season is the club's 66th season in total at the highest level. Ever since their promotion Wolves have adapted to the PL like a fish to water and have been a constant threat to the Europa League spots.

 

Board Requirements

Wolves finished a respectable 7th in the 2019-2020 season but missed out on a Europa League spot. The board requirements once you take over will be;

    1. A top 6 league finish (automatic qualification to the champions league)

    2. Reach the 5th round of the FA Cup.

    3. Reach the 4th round of the EFL Carabao Cup.

Additionally, you will be required to sign high reputation players, a special preference for Portuguese players, play entertaining football and use the club’s youth system to develop players for the future.

The club has a very good training facility and a decent youth set-up. The club however has a very efficient scouting set-up with a focus on young versatile players. You can make use of this aspect to bolster your squad.

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Squad, Formation and Tactical Style

Wolves developed an identity under manager Nuno Espirito Santo (whom you will be replacing), so it is best to maintain a similar tactical approach as it is well suited for the available squad of players. It is best to focus on a fluid counter-attacking tactic or focus on wing play.

Wolves are one of the few teams that have season regular success with a 3 at the back formation, so it would be best if you want to follow the same. A 3-5-2 or a 3-5-1-1

A rough example of what your line-up would look like in a 3-5-2 formation is as follows;

Rui Patricio as a sweeper-keeper.

Willy Boly, Conor Coady & Roman Saiss as the 3 centre backs, you can use Coady and Saiss as Ball Playing defenders.

Nelson Semedo & Jonny Otto as the wing-backs, you can increase crossing instructions for Jonny and have Semedo move into advanced attacking positions during attacks.

Leander Dendoncker, Joao Moutinho & Ruben Neves in a 3 man midfield with Neves playing as a defensive midfielder in a deep playmaker role, Moutinho as a playmaker or regular midfielder and Dendoncker as a box to box midfielder.

Pedro Neto & Raul Jimenez up front in interchanging forward roles.

Alternatively, you can use the pace and power of Adama Traore if you wish to use wingers and push Neto out wide. Podence can be a good option from the bench too.

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Key Players

    1. Raul Jimenez

Raul Jimenez is a very underrated striker who is very consistent. He leads the line brilliantly for wolves. He scored 17 goals for wolves last season and could end up being even better under another manager.

    2. Reuben Neves

Ruben Neves was always touted to be a superstar and it was a surprise to many when he agreed to sign for Wolves. The playmaker has a very mature head on his shoulders and can provide key assists and goals from midfield.

    3. Rui Patricio

Patricio is an able keeper who is amongst the best in the league. He is also prolific in the air and can make smart saves. His performances will be key to having a good season with the club.

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Weaknesses

1. The backups to the main XI are not very strong and there will a drop in quality if one of the regular players end up with an injury

2. There is very little room to make purchases without offloading a few players due to the restricted budget available for transfers and wages.

3. This is overall a very young squad and could take a few seasons for the youngsters to hit their prime.

Youth Prospects  

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,

    1. Pedro Neto

Neto who is already a vital member of the Wolves squad is an extremely versatile winger. He is very quick on his feet and is an excellent dribbler. He is one of the best Portuguese wonderkids in the game and will become a top player in the future.

    2. Vitor Ferreira

Vitor Ferreira or Vitinha is already on the cusp of first-team opportunities with the club and will only improve in time. As with Neto, Vitinha is considered as one of the futures of Portuguese football and he can easily develop into a replacement for Joao Moutinho.

    3. Fabio Silva

Silva is a well-known name amongst FM21 players. He has been a wonderkid for several editions of the game and can develop into a beastly forward. Given time he can easily surpass Jimenez and can lead the line for Wolves.

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Potential Transfers (in)

These players could be a handy addition to the Wolves squad and help them achieve their targets,

· Florentino Luis

· Rafael Leao

Potential Transfers (Out)

These players may be surplus to requirements at the club or may not be of the expected quality.

· John Ruddy

· Leo Bonatini

Summary

To summarise, Wolves will an interesting challenge for most FM managers. They certainly have a lot of quality but a few grey areas and their requirement is quite high. Will you be able to repeat or one up Nuno’s success at the club?