Football Manager 2023 launched on 8 November 2022 and was the first entry to carry official UEFA Champions League, Europa League and Europa Conference League branding, complete with the music, scoreboards and redrawn draws. Sports Interactive rebuilt recruitment around the Squad Planner and Recruitment Focus, and added Supporter Confidence, which splits your fanbase into Hardcore, Core, Family, Fair Weather, Corporate and Casual segments that judge you separately from the board. Match engine work went into goalkeeper distribution, spread blocks and aerial defending.
These tips go beyond the basics. They're the strategies experienced players use to play more efficiently, the hidden mechanics most people miss, and the optimizations that compound over a full playthrough. If you're just starting, check our beginner's guide first.
Essential Tips
1. Mentality is your baseline risk and roles, duties and instructions are the moderators
Mentality is your baseline risk and roles, duties and instructions are the moderators. Stacking a much higher tempo, much more direct passing and an Attacking mentality does not produce an aggressive side, it produces an incoherent one.
2. Individual training should match the role a player actually plays
Individual training should match the role a player actually plays. Role familiarity climbs from that setting, and leaving it on a default caps both familiarity and attribute growth for the whole season without any warning.
3. The Squad Planner ranks your squad by choice order against your tactic and plans three seasons out
The Squad Planner ranks your squad by choice order against your tactic and plans three seasons out. Run the Experience Matrix in pre-season to find the position where one injury leaves you with nobody, then buy for that rather than for the position you enjoy.
4. Recruitment Focus replaced FM22's assignments and works from filters rather than named targets
Recruitment Focus replaced FM22's assignments and works from filters rather than named targets. The near misses view is the most useful part of it, because a player failing a single criterion is frequently the bargain a strict filter would have hidden.
5. Supporter Confidence is tracked separately from board confidence, across Match Performance, Transfer Activity, Tactics and Squad, and split across six fan segments
Supporter Confidence is tracked separately from board confidence, across Match Performance, Transfer Activity, Tactics and Squad, and split across six fan segments. At clubs where supporters influence the board heavily, losing the Hardcore segment can end a job that results alone would have saved.
6. FM23 replaced the Offside Trap with Drop Off and Hold the Line
FM23 replaced the Offside Trap with Drop Off and Hold the Line. If your centre-backs are slow, Drop Off combined with a lower Line of Engagement is a genuine structural fix rather than a compromise.
7. The 4-2-3-1 gegenpress is the most widely used FM23 system, but it needs Work Rate, Stamina and Aggression across the front five
The 4-2-3-1 gegenpress is the most widely used FM23 system, but it needs Work Rate, Stamina and Aggression across the front five. Bolting it onto a squad without those attributes produces a team that is finished by the hour mark.
8. Dynamics is not an optional screen
Dynamics is not an optional screen. Squad hierarchy, player relationships and social groups drive morale, and a fractured dressing room degrades performances in ways no tactical adjustment will repair.
9. AI managers in FM23 were rebuilt around real world tactical styles derived from analysis of actual managers, so scouting an opponent's shape genuinely pays
AI managers in FM23 were rebuilt around real world tactical styles derived from analysis of actual managers, so scouting an opponent's shape genuinely pays. Their counter-attacking in particular is far more dangerous than it was in FM22.
10. The dedicated Set Piece Coach role does not exist in FM23
The dedicated Set Piece Coach role does not exist in FM23. It arrived in FM24 along with a Set Pieces coaching attribute, so in FM23 set piece output comes from your routines and your players' attributes rather than a specialist hire.
Advanced Strategies
Role Optimization
The difference between an average build and an optimized one is massive. See our builds guide for full breakdowns.
For Sweeper Keeper (A-Tier):
- Focus on Squad Planner combinations for maximum output.
- Core gear: Play Out Of Defence
- Stat priority: Offensive stats first
For Inverted Wing-Back (A-Tier):
- Versatile approach that handles any situation.
- Core gear: Pass Into Space
- Stat priority: Balanced stats
Mechanic Interactions
Understanding how Football Manager 2023's systems interact is where the real optimization lives. Our combat guide covers this in detail.
Squad Planner + Recruitment Focus: Ranks every player against your tactic by choice order, folds in your shortlist, and runs plans for the current season plus the next two. Combined with Recruitment Focus, replaces fm22's assignment system.
Supporter Confidence + Mentality and team instructions: Your fanbase divides into Hardcore, Core, Family, Fair Weather, Corporate and Casual segments, each judging Match Performance, Transfer Activity, Tactics and Squad separately from board objectives. When paired with Mentality and team instructions, mentality sets your baseline risk and the instructions moderate it, grouped as in possession, in transition and out of possession.
Role and duty familiarity scaling: Every player carries a familiarity rating for each role, and individual training set to their assigned role is what raises it. Leaving individual training on a default quietly caps both familiarity and attribute growth across a season.
Equipment Efficiency
| Equipment | Best Use Case | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Play Out Of Defence | Possession sides with technically secure defenders, and dragging a high pressing opponent out of shape. | Tells the back line and goalkeeper to build with short passes rather than launching it forward. |
| Pass Into Space | Quick forwards and wide players with strong Off The Ball, usually paired with a higher tempo. | Pushes players to hit the area ahead of a runner rather than into feet. |
| Counter | Squads with pace up front that lose the possession battle and need to win games in ten second bursts. | An In Transition instruction telling the side to break immediately on winning possession instead of resetting shape first. |
| Trigger Press | High energy squads with the Work Rate, Stamina and Aggression to sustain it for ninety minutes. | Sets how eagerly your players close down. |
| Drop Off | Slow centre-backs, and away matches where surrendering territory is an acceptable price. | One of the two instructions that replaced the old Offside Trap, alongside Hold the Line. |
Location Efficiency
UEFA Champions League (Elite clubs): Fully branded in FM23 for the first time, with official music, scoreboards, kit badges and reworked draws, alongside the Europa League, Europa Conference League, Super Cup and Youth League.
Premier League (Top tier England): Playable but not licensed as a competition. Sports Interactive has never held the Premier League licence, so it appears generically while individual clubs such as Manchester City and Brighton and Hove Albion are licensed.
Bundesliga (Top tier Germany): Fully licensed through 2. Bundesliga and 3. Liga, with the DFB-Pokal and Supercup included. German clubs also run on comparatively tight wage structures, which changes how a rebuild works there.
cinch Scottish Premiership (Top tier Scotland): Licensed under its sponsor name along with the Championship, League One, League Two, the Premier Sports Cup and the SPFL Trust Trophy. A common low budget save start outside England.
Major League Soccer (Top tier United States): Licensed and modelled with its own rules, including salary constraints and Designated Player slots that behave nothing like a European league. Squad building there is a separate skill.
Mistakes Even Veterans Make
- Piling instructions on top of an already aggressive mentality until the tactic contradicts itself.
- Leaving individual training on defaults, so role familiarity never climbs and development stalls.
- Watching board confidence while Supporter Confidence collapses across the Hardcore and Core segments.
- Running a gegenpress with a squad that lacks the Stamina, Work Rate and Aggression to sustain it.
- Starting at a small club with no tactical experience, where the learning curve and board pressure arrive together.
Pro Quick Tips
- Mentality is your baseline risk and roles, duties and instructions are the moderators. Stacking a much higher tempo, much more direct passing and an Attacking mentality does not produce an aggressive side, it produces an incoherent one.
- Individual training should match the role a player actually plays. Role familiarity climbs from that setting, and leaving it on a default caps both familiarity and attribute growth for the whole season without any warning.
- The Squad Planner ranks your squad by choice order against your tactic and plans three seasons out. Run the Experience Matrix in pre-season to find the position where one injury leaves you with nobody, then buy for that rather than for the position you enjoy.
- Start with Inverted Wing-Back, switch to Sweeper Keeper when ready
- Invest in Play Out Of Defence above everything else
- Clear areas in order: UEFA Champions League → Premier League → Bundesliga → cinch Scottish Premiership → Major League Soccer. See our maps guide
- Squad Planner + Recruitment Focus together are stronger than either alone
More Football Manager 2023 Guides
- Football Manager 2023 Football Manager 2023 Overview
- Football Manager 2023 Best Builds
- Football Manager 2023 Tier List
- Football Manager 2023 Walkthrough
- Football Manager 2023 Beginner's Guide
- Football Manager 2023 Weapons Guide
- Football Manager 2023 Combat Guide
- Football Manager 2023 Boss Guide
- Football Manager 2023 Maps & Locations
- Football Manager 2023 Crafting Guide
- Football Manager 2023 Classes & Characters
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