Mbayo, Doku, and Origi present themselves to be the best choice replacements for Lukaku given the circumstances with his club side. I've had this argument before with random streamers on Twitch about the value of these green circles in FM20, the game refers to this in Team Reports as Role Suitability. It is defined very vaguely by SI, but essentially it's akin to the concept of how well player attributes conform to player positions.

In this instance, Romelu Lukaku is being reported by the Belgian assistant manager as a suitable fit for the main striker position (target man). In-game stats rarely have the ability to change the suitability of a player to a specific role on the pitch. Mbayo, however, having the more potential ability in this team, as demonstrated in the second screenshot below with the stars :-), will no doubt be the better player in the immediate and present future (given the correct training, etc).

Belgians who are interested in learning who the star players of this team are in 2028 can reference the below:

• Jamie Yayi Mpie
• Yari Verschaeren
• Stefaan Hoste
• Jérémy Doku (pictured above)
• Tresor Dikundia
• Marco Kana
• Maarten Vandevoordt

I've always been told that the dichotomy in international football management is usually between choosing to call up players based on their form or choosing to call up based on reputation. Now, I honestly don't know what to think about Romelu Lukaku's inclusion in the Belgian squad on the recommendation of Quick Pick (which I hope is a Machine Learning algorithm native to FM20). I'd prefer the option of leaving out Lukaku who is currently at Barcelona, and not playing much, versus the option of playing him out wide on the right. However, there aren't many who can viably compete with Lukaku for his place in the team. But one thing is for sure, his reputation certainly precedes him in FM.

This is the Belgian National 1st team according to Quick Pick on FM:

WELCOME TO BELGIUM RED DEVILS [2028]

Mode: Career (FM2020)

Country: Belgium National Team (Head Coach of 1st Team)

Date Joined: August 2028

Follow me on Twitch

Top of the League! 2028. Let's go Inter.

Delighted to announce the agreement of a contract extension today with Inter Miami. This announcement brings to an end weeks of speculation in the media about the future of my employment with the club. I hope to be able to be afforded ample time to implement the entertaining playing philosophy and elite vision of the board and its owners. Thank you once again for the opportunity.

Our backroom staff team (minus Paul McDonough who has been replaced with a new Director of Football) is currently working on a transfer opportunity with an agent to bring ex-Manchester United star Jesse Lingard to Miami. I have instructed the board on the opportunity. His contract at Burnley has expired and we're keen to bring him into our MLS roster. I had previously and surprisingly met the acquaintance of and managed Jesse Lingard while I was a First Division manager of CSKA Moscow in Russia in their League winning season.

Transfer Targets 2028: Spotlight on Jesse Lingard

Game Age: 35

Previous Club in FM: Burnley

Natural Position: Attacking Midfield (Right)

Game Transfer Fee: $375K

The tournament structure for the MLS Final is quite uncommon in that the winning finalists of the MLS Eastern Conference league play the winners of the Western Conference final, In this case, the side Inter Miami lost to, NYCFC recently played La Galaxy and the result is as follows:

Very proud of Tyler Vecchio who came 3rd in the MVP and average ratings player ranking table (Players are rated out of 10 for their individual performances after every MLS match). Vecchio excelled with a whopping 7.29 out of 10. Tyler is also a USA Player of the Year third-place finalist. Don't you just love it?

CONGRATULATIONS TO GRANT LILLARD - 2027 Defender of the Season (Runner-Up)

THE 2028 FM SEASON 

The start of the 2028 FM Season is remarkable for one reason. It's the 9th consecutive season of game time which I've been endowed with on Football Manager. Despite the loss to New York City FC in the final of the Eastern Conference play-offs, I managed to log into FM this morning whilst watching LooneyHoon on Twitch to a warm gesture from the Inter Miami fans. The end-of-season award ceremony took place and we're proud to announce that Tyler Vecchio won the PoTS award with 35% of the vote and also won the YPoTS award. Tyler, who is only 20 years old, scored a total of 21 goals for us this season which is a magnificent effort. Moving forward, we're looking to build on Tyler's contribution for next season after a 3rd place finish in the MLS. Congratulations to Mark Joyce as well and Carlos Fernandez who came 3rd and 2nd respectively.

It's now the close season, which effectively is the 3-month interim period that precedes the start of the next season. At the moment I have scouts over at the African Cup of Nations U23 tournament. But in the meantime, I've been approached by an agent for a potential wonderkid who I have offered a 1-week trial to at Inter Miami. He's the 17-year-old regen Striker by the name of André Luiz who currently plays for Brazilian outfit BOT. Luiz scored 15 goals in 36 games last season. 

While I'm aiming to use the one Young Designated Player slot for a player in the African Cup of Nations this month, Andre Luiz looks like he might just be eligible for the U23s contract on offer as well. The African Nations isn't that rated so it's tough to know what kind of talent might emerge from the tournament, nevertheless, we're going to use all the resources we have to attract the best talent to Inter.

Luiz's transfer might have to wait for a while as the Roster Guarantee Date (the same date as the Secondary Transfer Window deadline day) has passed.

WATCH HERE (4): Highlights - MLS Eastern Conference Final 2027 FM20 - YouTube

TACTICAL DE-BRIEF (2)

The FM tactic I like using the most is the 4-2-3-1 wide with attacking full-backs (FBs) as opposed to the wing-back with three at the back. This is because I have signed a left-back who I put some spotlight on earlier, the Brazilian Riquelme, who is a very offensive option on the left channel, but also because I have the passing completion of Mark Joyce in the central area. Joyce's pass completion statistics are amazing and I fully expect him to challenge Tyler Vecchio for the Inter Miami CF: Player of the Season award. For the Eastern Conference Final, against NYCFC, I'll be using this formation (4-2-3-1):

In this tactic, I will aim to exploit the wide channels through the passing attributes of our captain, Mark Joyce, and the support role played by a relatively new signing of ours, 35-year-old Argentinian Defensive Midfielder, Alejandro Cabrera. Signed on a free from Newell's in the Argentinian First Division. Starting at the back, Grant Lillard is pivotal to the efficiency of this formation. His role as a center-back is to drop back so as to provide cover to the ball-playing defender when Inter are hopefully in the lead by one or more goals. Overlaps occur mostly when we're faced with a team that finds joy in sitting back. I don't expect this from NYCFC, so I have instructed Tyler Vecchio and Scott Cairns to push up and cut inside when in possession of the ball.

Robert Brink is the Poacher in front of goal, he has been instructed to drop deep and link up with Fernandez, Joyce and Cabrera, and the Full-Backs which are attack-minded. In this formation, goals can come from anywhere. Open play, set pieces, we're also getting a lot of support from referees for our free playing football, which is resulting in converted penalties for fouls committed against us by both NY Red Bulls and our arch-rivals, Orlando City.

I fully expect NYCFC to field a strong outfit, one which will more likely than not include Kaká, Mitrita, and the League's top goalscorer: Henrymárcio. Mitrita, who won the MoM award in NYCFC's last fixture is pivotal. They play a patient 4-2-3-1 formation and have really good press as well by the looks of it. But they can definitely be gotten at seeing as the side conceded 2 goals against Chicago in the EC Semi-Final. We just need to ensure we're not exposed to any of their successful attacks by keeping it tight at the back.

We definitely look forward to playing the Final in 2 days (FM game time). I'll upload the highlights after the game and of course, I will analyze the game in the comments section. Good luck to all the boys involved.

THE E.C. FINAL

Amazing! We're into the East Conf, final. Now, before this virtual managerial experience, I did not understand Major League Soccer very much, but the actual gaming experience of managing an MLS soccer team has opened my eyes to so much inspiration I didn't know existed. Guys, this is it.

Although we are favorites, nothing changes from here on in. Our opposition may have changed and maybe even upgraded but our procedures remain the same. Myself, Joaozinho (my Assistant Manager), and the entire coaching team will give our players the customary 3-days of rest from their grueling training schedule and upon return, we'll get back into the preparations for next week's game.

We've come a long way since the beginning of the season, being seeded 17th in the League at 85-1 odds compared to NYCFC's wealth and relatively shorter odds of 20-1 we've overcome a lot of injuries and self-doubt to get this far. It's been a long journey but on behalf of everyone at Inter Miami, I'd like to express my sincerest gratitude to the fans who attended our games and to the board for supporting our objectives.

SEMI-FINALS

WATCH HERE: (3) Highlights of Inter Miami CF vs Orlando City on FM20 Career Mode - YouTube

Another scorcher of a game. Miami Freedom Park, thanks for the love. You can catch the highlights by clicking on the above link. We're now officially through to the Eastern Conference Final, where we will either play Chicago (who finished Top of the League) or NYCFC in a head-to-head to end all head-to-heads. But are we ready, Miami? Yes, we are! Yes, we are!

1ST ROUND PLAY-OFFS

WATCH HERE: (2) Highlights of Inter Miami CF vs New York Red Bulls on FM20 Career Mode - YouTube

Oh! that was a tough home match. Miami Freedom Park. Not only did we have to restart my laptop without saving the game after a first attempt where things admittedly took a turn for the worst and I conceded three goals against a fantastic NY Red Bulls side, but also, I had to stay up and export a hefty .wma file to YouTube early this morning (hopefully you enjoy the watch). But we're through, at the second attempt (Yay!). New York fielded an unrecognizable side without their star man in what I originally thought was the 1st leg of 2, but which turns out to be a 1 leg knockout stage. The Man of the Match award deservedly goes to Inter Miami's left-winger Scott Cairns, who scored a hattrick and grabbed the match ball. Thanks to all our fans for supporting us over the course of the entire 90 mins. Our next round match is vs Orlando City. 

For the advanced FM goonies. Inter Miami has already played Orlando City earlier in this current campaign. One ended in a 0-3 loss away from home and the other a 4-1 home victory. Orlando City is a very good side.

TACTICAL DE-BRIEF

As a club that is seeded 2nd in the MLS, I thought I'd share the tactics which have been incorporated ahead of the first leg with New York. Inter Miami is currently playing what started out as a 5-4-1 come 4-2-3-1 formation which has achieved a structured level of fluidity and consists of 5-points of attack, which emerge mainly from both flanks. Ball distribution is standard to direct and passing style is short-to-direct, balls are targeted to the poacher. I used this tactic/formation briefly in the second half of the solitary Bundesliga season where I finished 4th with Dortmund. Then, with the use of a target man I signed, Vedat Muriqi, the goals the Dortmund side I managed scored were mainly headers and tap-ins originating from great wing-play.

Marcelo Bielsa's Leeds FM20 Tactics by RDF | FM Scout

Let me run through my rendition of the RDF Bielsa tactic, briefly:

The original tactic uses a half-back and two very advanced inverted wing-backs. However, I noticed very quickly (within the first few games) that the flanks make the difference between average performances and above-average performances. How did I notice this? Well, I played a game in the middle of the current campaign, where the opposition instructions I used required my forwards to press the opposition center-backs at all times when they were out of possession. 

However, using this instruction made me completely susceptible to conceding areas of importance as I did not instruct the team to press the opposition's full-backs. You can guess what happened? Yep, I conceded the most outrageous goal where their quick fullback ran straight past the team's midfield and was able to penetrate our defense.

That's when I started to realise the sensitivity of the match engine to small but significant in-game changes. The game literally feeds off every minute change made at every given interval. My team's general instructions, i.e. structure, style, and depending on the selection of players selected, its mentality are of the utmost importance to the side's setup.

Back to RDF's Bielsa formation. I took the liberty of outlining how a team in the MLS should set up in order to exploit the entirety of the pitch.

• Goalkeeper: Sweeper Keeper with support duties instructed to distribute the ball shortly (prevent long distribution)
• Fullbacks: Set to attack mentality, and from experience, this often goes well with off-the-ball pressing responsibilities as well
• Central Defenders: All plays start through short distributions and are originated through the ball-playing defender
• Deep Lying Playmaker:  A standard defensive midfield role, a role that succeeds with great passing attributes
• Box-to-Box Midfielder: An energetic central midfield role, that may succeed with great physical attributes
• Advanced Playmaker:  A central support role that leads counters/link-up play with core midfield to build and structure attacks
• Inverted Wingers: An attack role, instructed to support full-back advances with overlaps, responsible for orientating by-line crosses and in-ward runs for the team
• Striker/Forward: Operates 90% of the time in the 18 yard-box and more so the penalty area, can succeed with great composure and finishing attributes

Inter has had a very good run by orchestrating the RDF Bielsa setup. There are 6 key players which we use in the most advanced positions. These players differ significantly from that of the natural wingers we have at the club (Scott Cairns and Cristobal Valencia, for instance). The compatibility or otherwise of the forward/winger combination is what I find to be the most interesting. If you notice (in the above screengrab) ONLY Robert Brink and Mario Cárdenas are suitable selections for the Poacher role in the Forward position. This is indicated by the green (or partially red) fill in the circles nearby.

Now, I've been playing Football Manager for nearly 20 years now, and these indicators are a new and somewhat remarkable component to FM. Previously, we had to rely on intuition and attribute assessment to decide if a player was suitable for a non-conventional position. 

Tyler Vecchio is our big-game player, who thrives on opportunities to score wherever they arise. With respect to this current campaign, Henrymarcio, who we've played against on 2 separate occasions is a handful. The press usually indicates in press conferences how we have become known for scoring just before and just after the half-time break. 

Tyler, who is only 20 years old, gets the majority of his goals in our home games, of which he has scored 15 in the MLS this season (joint 4th in the League), through the formation we play (RDF Bielsa). We tend to fare well away from home, however as a unit, I'm very hesitant to put Tyler in a big game away match as I don't wish to dent his confidence. Tyler will probably start the first leg with New York, after a customary 3-day break from training.

New York Red Bulls have an English forward who is on our radar by the name of Tony Wrigley. His in-game form is similar to Tyler Vecchio's but Joáozinho and I are not too fussed by the danger of his capabilities as we're very confident we'll see the game out over the course of the two legs.

The club culture and vision seem to be indistinguishable from the club's on-the-field performance. Inter Miami has unfortunately never won an MLS title. But nevertheless, in Football Manager, you're graded on every aspect of your tactics. Attack, Defence and even Entertainment are all graded. Currently, I've reached a level of job security that allows me to retain the confidence of the players and the board. I can walk into the boardroom and make requests to the Chairman which I could never have made when I was interviewed for the Inter Miami job. However, there's always room for improvement.

More to follow shortly!

Great news for Inter Miami fans everywhere. We're all set for the playoffs!

As the manager of the club that is currently seeded in 2nd place in the Eastern Conference, it's really a privilege to be able to host New York Red Bulls in this upcoming fixture. Everyone at Inter is excited about the game and what it means. Thanks to the players for being so determined, thanks to the staff for working so hard, and the fans from all over the world for supporting us. We won't let you down. Thank you!

So, Earlier I mentioned that the MLS transfer window had opened. Good news! Our team at Inter Miami have managed to secure the signing of an experienced striker thanks to the shrewd negotiation skills of our Director of Football, Paul McDonough.

Transfer Targets 2027: Spotlight on Che Adams

Game Age: 31

Previous Club in FM: Free Agent

Natural Position: Striker (Centre)

Game Transfer Fee: $0

It's a real privilege to welcome Ché to Inter Miami. Whoo!

Quick glimpse of the 2021 Eastern Conference IRL:

Top 7 go through, let's go Miami!!

I've always been a big advocate for minimalism when it comes to backroom staff in FM. Although the variables in question are controllable, part of the reason for this hesitance towards minimalism is because of the immense amount of pressure you'll have to deal with if you decide to work alongside a Technical Director, a Director of Football and retain the services of a Director like David Beckham, who is for all tense and purposes a fantastic part of the Inter Miami team I'm managing.

This morning I woke up to a surprise. The foreign (international) transfer window had opened and to my astonishment, David was in the mood to rock and roll like Bon Jovi. He surprised me with an offer for 29-year old, 3.5 stars potential signing Brian Farioli, who plays for Colón.

Now, when I speak about minimalism, I mean order more than anything. Marcelo Clure initiates sales and manages unveilings, David handles new player interest and offers and Paul McDonough who is the DoF manages contract negotiations. My job is already way too complicated as it is.

At the end of the day, getting our house in order is important. And while I welcome the signing of Farioli, I would advise anyone who really wants to enjoy the game to think about the benefits and advantages of hiring a Technical Director and Director of Football, SIMULTANEOUSLY.

A.A.

An epic match during this run of good form was the New England game away. I've attached the highlights file for the game if any FM fans would like to watch the way Inter Miami play. Just start the game, download the attached .pkm file (see below) and click on Watch Highlights, and you should be good.

WATCH HERE: (1) Wondergoal from Mark Joyce! - YouTube

Transfer Targets 2027: Spotlight on 'Riquelme' Carvalho Araujo Viana

Game Age: 24

Previous Club in FM: VDG (Brazil)

Natural Position: Defender (LB)

Game Transfer Fee: $875K

Transfer Targets 2027: Spotlight on Cristóbal Valencia

Game Age: 22

Previous Club in FM: Inter Milan (Italy)

Natural Position: Midfield (MC) or (AMR)

Game Transfer Fee: $2.8M

More to follow shortly.

Here's a quick overview of the journeyman adventure I've been on since FM20 was released.

Good result today. Happy with the note I got from Alicia. We beat Impact 2-1 on the road to building a title challenge next season. It's important not to show your opponents too much respect, especially as Montreal Impact are in fact previous MLS Champions. Chuffed with the result today. Looking forward to what the future brings.

A.A.

In what might be a bit of a contrast to the formation Inter Miami CF played today in real life, I'll be playing a 4-4-2 WB.

I hope I'm not being too sentimental or anything but there area few more coincidences that seem to work in our favour. Firstly, the current Montreal Impact manager in the save I'm playing is Diego Alonso, who is the real-life manager of Inter Miami CF in the Eastern Conference. Today, the real Inter Miami side played using what looks like an orthodox 4-2-3-1 away from home at the Red Bull Arena.

I'm grateful to be able to start this new chapter in my career with a welcome from Chairman Mr. Claure. I also met a few press officers from Fort Lauderdale's Sporting newspaper, which went well. I honestly am looking forward to playing the last three games of the season which Marcelo ensures will not be judged as part of the clubs' vision. The fact is, the club is positioned in 12th place at the moment in the Eastern Conference, and while I have what seems to be an adequately sufficient squad to challenge for the MLS title next season, you can never be sure how players will react to new faces in the dressing room. 

The atmosphere here seems better than at my last club (Southampton FC in the English Championship), where several players at the Saints made transfer requests a part of everyday life. This included players who would have had an amazing reputation to attract success at the club, players like Fred and JWP. I'm hoping to have turned a new page into a more positive atmosphere that will attract greater accomplishments.

I sign off with a small message to the fans: Let's come together and make this an impactful next few years. We have what it takes at Miami to become the best outfit in the MLS. We should not tolerate mediocrity in any way, shape or form. Thank you for trusting me with this opportunity.

Great sidenote: Our next game (which I'm prepping for heavily) is Montreal Impact, which happens to also be the last game the real Inter Miami played today, which is Independence Day I believe. Unfortunately for FM fans, the real Inter Miami lost 1-0. Let's hope we can go one better in the game.

Yours Truly

A.A.

WELCOME TO INTER MIAMI CF [2027]

Mode: Career (FM2020)

Club: Inter Miami

Country: United States (Major League Soccer)

Date Joined: August 2026

Contract: $19.75k p/w

Expires: 2028

Previous Experience: 7 years spent in Italy, France, England, Germany, and Russia

Win Ratio: 127/256 = 49%

£160k until 2026. Is that confirmed?

Attempting the Euro predictions but part of me wants to attempt the Copa America as well. I personally don't know enough about the competition or the national sides to make an informed prediction. Is there an app we can use to see who's been called up by the countries who qualified?