Manage a Squad Big Enough to Fill a Small Village
Here we go, the Nottingham Forest FM26 team guide. After such a great season last season, we are looking to build on this and take the club further.
In this Nottingham Forest FM26 team guide we look at the key players in the team and how to use them. We also build a tactic and show the process we use to build that tactic.
This guide is going to give you a great understanding of how to win with Nottingham Forest.
Nottingham Forest FM26 Club Overview
So let’s take our first step in the Nottingham Forest FM26 team guide. This is where we look at the board and supporter expectations, then we can understand the identity of the club. These objectives should not be ignored, if you hit a bad run, it can be an excuse to let you go.
Looking at the board expectations we can see there is one playstyle objective and two recruitment objectives. They want attacking football, so that limits us to Control Possession, Tiki Taka and Gegenpress.
The recruitment idea is interesting, they are basically saying sign players under 23 for the future or the first team. Obviously our main target here is to bring in players for the first team. This leads back into the performance versus profit objective a lot of teams follow.
The supporter objectives are slightly different, they want entertaining football and they want to develop youngsters with the youth system. The entertaining football is fairly straight forward, we want to create chances, so the attacking tactical styles above will create this.
The other thing is the youth development using the youth system. This is about bringing players through who are good enough. This can be achieved by creating a the greatest youth system in the league. Employ the best head of youth development and coaches that focus on working with youngsters.
Want to try this with a different team? Check out the Brighton version here.
Nottingham Forest FM26 Squad Guide
The following stage of our Nottingham Forest FM26 team guide focuses on evaluating the squad.
We use the assistant manager’s star-rated reports to highlight our strongest players and any youngsters with standout potential. Once these groups are identified, we match their preferred roles and positions to build out the most natural formations for the team, forming the foundation of our tactical setup.
Key Players
After last year I was expecting a large group of key players and here we are, a large group of key players. The good news is that we have a nice mix of new and old players, but the important observation is the age. None of them are anywhere near thirty, which means this is a team for the long term.
The only problem I can see is that a lot of the key players play centrally, means one or two will not start. We need to shoehorn that in the best way we can, 4231 and 433 will only feature 3 central players. A 4222 box could be a possibility, but we will lose Hudson-Odoi and Ndoye.
Best Youth Prospects
Look at the abundance of potential at Forest! Hutchinson is the top of pops in potential, so this means we need to use width to accommodate him. This Ndoye is our starter and Hutchinson is a much needed rotation into the side.
We are oversubscribed on the right wing to be honest, another top talent in McAtee plays there too. The 433 is looking more and more likely as we want to play Gibbs-White and Elliott with either Dominguez or Sangare.
Formation Verdict: 433
Nottingham Forest FM26 Wonderkids & Young Talents
So there are a number of Wonderkids at Nottingham Forest, which is always a nice feeling to have. You want to have players that you can develop and compare with other save games. The wonderkids at Forest are:
- Jair
- Eric da Silva Moreira
- Tyler Bindon
As always with the Nottingham Forest FM26 team guide, we recommend giving them first team action as soon as possible, around 20 games in a season and seeing how they develop.
If you think that you have no chance of playing them, get them out on loan to a club that will play them in the first team.
Nottingham Forest FM26 Tactics & Best Formation
As we wrap up this Nottingham Forest FM26 team guide, it’s time to combine all the key elements. We’ve identified the tactical style, chosen the ideal formation, and highlighted the crucial players who will shape your save. With this framework in place, you’re ready to launch into Season 1 with confidence.
Looking at the below formation, you probably think I have lost the plot, but this formation is based on how De Zerbi played at Brighton. 433 DM is a really solid formation and works well with the Gegenpress tactical style. Once we have that ball, we are marching up the other end to attack them.
The basic movement in this transition is the two centre midfielders move into AMC creating a five man attack. The DM and one of the Full backs move into MC to then protect against the counter and offer solutions in possession going up the field.
The defence squeeze together to protect the centre and push the opposition out wide while our players move back into position.
This shape works even better if you use the FM26 433 transition model.
Transfer Recommendations for Nottingham Forest in FM26
Positions to Strengthen
Being honest, the Nottingham Forest FM26 Team Guide is showing that the squad is nearly complete, it’s only a couple of positions away from a competitive squad.
The positions that need looking into are the GK, DR and ST. Other than these positions the team is looking like it is in good shape and ready for the season ahead.
Potential Signings
Heroes fall unfortunately, Chris Wood is on his way out, Sels doesn’t feature on either of our squad lists and Savona is our one and only right back.
So Keepers are subjective, if you are playing defensive football look at the other clubs in the bottom and which keepers are doing great. If you want a distributor have a look at the teams with high passes completed to get an idea.
The Right Back is an interesting position, I would probably look for one with Aggression, Anticipation, Acceleration, Stamina and Work Rate. These are common Gegenpress attributes for a pressing wing back. Try the peak ages of 20-25 and some creative attributes to unlock this one.
Nottingham Forest FM26 Save Challenges
Nottingham Forest are under so much pressure to progress on what achieved last year. I feel that Forest took the same approach that Arsenal did in the summer and to bolster the quality of the squad. This shows the intent of the team, and the next step has to be the Champions League to continue this remarkable journey.
It’s not the destination, it’s the journey which draws us in.
Conclusion
Nottingham Forest are a team on the up, after last year they are looking to progress even further in the league. They have recruited a large squad of quality players who are under 27 years old, meaning they could dominate for years to come.
I used our Nottingham Forest FM26 team guide to get us started for 6 months to see how the team performs. I’m not going to lie, the team were not as good as I anticipating, I think it is down to the team gelling. This always takes time, especially if you have a number of players joining the first team. Even so, we managed to get to 9th in the league.
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