It's been a long time coming, but Football Manager 26 is on the horizon.
After FM25 was cancelled due to concerns over the sufficient quality of the game, FM26 is set to be officially released on Tuesday 4th November, with the Advanced Access Beta set to be available on Thursday 23rd October.
From the introduction of women's football to the birth of In-possession and Out-of-possession tactics, we're set to be spoiled with a plethora of new features.
One of which is the addition of nine new player roles, and we take in-depth look into each one.
No-Nonsense Goalkeeper
The No-Nonsense Goalkeeper adopts a more reserved approach, preferring to stay closer to their goal and taking as few risks as possible with the ball at their feet when put under pressure, primarily seeking the long ball.
Ball-Playing Goalkeeper
Quite the opposite to the No-Nonsense Goalkeeper, the Ball-Playing Goalkeeper looks to play a significant role in their team's build-up, often moving out of their goal and in line with the central defender.
The Goalkeeper will often act as an additional outfield player in order to help their team escape the opposition press, and requires strong technical attributes to play the role sufficiently. You'd suspect that former Manchester City and current Galatasaray goalkeeper Ederson will thrive in this role.
Overlapping Centre Back
The Overlapping Centre Back will likely act no different to a standard centre back when out of position and still maintains the objective of providing protection for the team.
In possession however, the role will see your defender take more risks in attack by occupying crossing positions and making overlapping runs into the final third.
Playmaking Wing-Back
Similarly to the Inverted Wing-Back role, the Playmaking Wing-Back will look to drift into central areas of the pitch in order to gain a numerical advantage and sustain attacks.
While the Inverted Wing-Back isn't always central to a team's progression and chance creation, the Playmaking Wing-Back will be. The role will see the player have much more of the ball, almost acting as a creative central midfield player that reverts to wing-back when possession is lost.
The player will once again require high level of technical skills in order to be effective in this role.
Advanced Wing-Back
The Advanced Wing-Back is essentially a more attacking version that the standard Wing-Back role, constantly providing width in high areas.
When building out of the back, the Advanced Wing-Back won't drop in to support alongside the central defenders but will be positioned higher up the pitch, more like a wide midfielder.
In the final third, the player is expected to add to the threat and can make supportive runs.
Midfield Playmaker
The Midfield Playmaker will act as the bridge between defence and attack, aiming to receive the ball in the middle of the park before seeking a killer ball into the forward line.
In early stages of play, the Midfield Playmaker will look to receive progressive passes from defenders, before occupying an attacking midfield role when their team is in the final third.
Wide Central Midfielder
The Wide Central Midfielder will unsurprisingly operate wider than the traditional central midfielder, acting as a more versatile bridge from defence to attack.
The Wide Central Midfielder is typically played on either side of a midfield three to ensure that there is sufficient cover.
Wide Forward
The Wide Forward will look to provide width throughout attacks and stretch the opposition's defence, but won't be afraid to make darting runs in behind the final line, especially when their side is in the final third and can seek a goalscoring opportunity.
Channel Forward
A Channel Forward will aim to drag the opposition's defender out of their position by making supportive runs in the channels.
This is a selfless role that can create space centrally for teammates to exploit, but this doesn't eliminate the Channel Forward's goal threat as they will aim to use their pace to create a one v one opening if the opponent's defensive line is particularly high.
