New player roles they should add to Football Manager

If I’m being completely honest, I can’t actually remember what new player roles they said were coming to Football Manager 2025. It’s been so long, and frankly, I’ve tried to block out the traumatic memory of it not even being released. So instead, I’ve taken a look around and cooked up some ideas for new roles Football Manager could introduce.

To be fair, the game has always done a decent job of keeping up with tactical trends, and this is exactly the sort of thing they need to keep doing. At this point, they’ve got to absolutely smash Football Manager 2026 and this could be one way to help them get there.

No-Nonsense Winger

Think… pace merchant who’s allergic to cutbacks.

The No-Nonsense Winger is a proper throwback. None of this inverted nonsense. No cutting inside on the stronger foot to curl one into the top corner. Just a chalk-on-boots wide man who hugs the touchline, skins the full-back, and whips it in. Every. Single. Time.

What do they do? Sprint down the flank like Aaron Lennon circa 2009, hit the byline, and ping it into the mixer for the big man. No tricky flicks. No square passes to inverted full-backs. Just direct, glorious simplicity.

Real-world inspiration? Young Ryan Giggs. Antonio Valencia back when United fans still had hope. Any winger ever managed by Big Sam. Or, as mentioned, peak Aaron Lennon.

Inverted Centre Back

This isn’t your standard centre-half. The Inverted CB steps out from the back line in possession, slides into midfield, and forms a double pivot. It’s like turning John Stones into prime Busquets mid-match.

How does it work? In build-up play, they drift into the DM slot to create an overload in midfield. Out of possession? They snap back into the back four like nothing ever happened.

Real-world inspiration? Stones under Guardiola. David Alaba for Austria. Or, for the retro crowd, Franz Beckenbauer as a sweeper. It’s a mash-up of a libero and a half-back… beautiful chaos.

Ball-Winning Trequartista

A trequartista… with defensive work rate. Yes, really. This role fuses the free-roaming creativity of a classic #10 with the aggression of a ball-winning midfielder.

What should they do? Harass the opposition’s deepest midfielder like a budget Thomas Müller, then turn around and slot in a through ball for your striker. Basically, it’s Bruno Fernandes: the Football Manager role.

Real-world inspiration? Griezmann at the 2022 World Cup. Bruno Fernandes every week. Mason Mount under Tuchel. If your #10 isn’t making tackles in their own box before assisting at the other end, what’s the point?

You can kind of fudge this by tweaking instructions for an attacking midfielder, but wouldn’t it be cleaner as its own preset?

False Winger (The seven-and-a-half)

Not your typical wide man charging at defenders. The False Winger comes inside, playing as a pseudo-midfielder… perfect for squads stacked with quality CMs but zero actual wingers.

How does it work? They drift into half-spaces, combine with central players, and leave the flank free for overlapping full-backs. Think of it as deploying your #8 out wide. Like the advanced playmaker on the wing role they have, but one that drifts into midfield even more.

Real-world inspiration? Gavi for Barcelona. Bernardo Silva or David Silva under Pep. Or Samir Nasri in his City days… after all, he did once call himself a “non-axial playmaker.”

Final Thoughts

Modern football is all about hybrid players and fluid shapes, yet FM’s current role list can feel a bit too rigid for what actually happens on the pitch. These new roles would add tactical depth, beautiful chaos (looking at you, False Winger), and, most importantly, new ways for us to lose 3-0 to MK Dons because we got “too clever.”

Do Football Manager need these? No.
Should they add them anyway, just to keep the game fresh and give tactical nerds more toys to play with? Absolutely.

Your move, Sports Interactive.