Are Tactics Overrated?

What do you think?

Are Tactics Overrated?

The Football Manager community puts a huge emphasis on tactics.

Seriously — you can see it everywhere. Tactical discussion dominates forums. YouTube videos on tactics perform better than videos on any other subject. The most commonly shared Football Manager files are all user created tactics.

But are they overrated? Is their impact overstated by the average player?

A few things to consider:

Most tactics that enjoy long term success are similar, featuring either overlapping or underlapping wingers, gegenpressing, and an attacking mindset.

Many of the tactical buttons don’t actually have any measurable impact on gameplay, especially when looked at over the long run.

The difference between the top performing tactics in the long run, holding everything else constant, is usually less than a point per season.

It’s been shown time and time again that player attributes are far more important than any tactical setup.

The player morale system clearly has an oversized impact on player performance.

If that’s the case, why do we care so much about tactics? Is it possible that our discussions are just a waste of time?

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