So, has the entire tactical playbook for FM26 just been thrown online? Looks like it. Some eagle-eyed user on the Sports Interactive forums, a fella by the name of Smiteras, found a hidden file on the official FMDB site. And what was in it? Just a little list of over 40 new or completely renamed player roles for every position in Football Manager.

FM26 New Player Roles:

The forum post got mysteriously deleted a couple of days later, which kinda makes you think it’s legit, don’t it? Sports Interactive hasn’t said a word, of course, they never do. But this feels bigger than your average bit of speculation. This ain’t just one or two tweaks. We’re talkin’ a total rework of how we build our tactics.

Is it a massive tactical revolution or just a big rebranding exercise? Probably a bit of both. Some of the weird old roles that no one really understood, like the Enganche, seem to be gone or merged into somethin’ more straightforward.

But then you’ve got a load of brand new roles that offer insane tactical depth. This is the sort of leak that gets you booting up your old saves and just staring at your tactic screen, imagining the possibilities.

The latest football manager news is always exciting, but this is on another level. It suggests the game is moving even closer to real-world football, giving us the tools to properly copy the mad scientist managers out there.

Defensive Revolution: New Goalkeeper and Centre-Back Roles

Right, let’s get into the nitty-gritty, starting from the back. Your goalkeeper options have always been a bit… simple. Sweeper Keeper or Goalkeeper. That’s it.

Now? We’re gettin’ some proper choice. For all those times you’ve screamed at your keeper for coming for a ball he’s got no business claiming, there’s a solution.

Finally, you can tell your goalie to just be a goalie. The Line-Holding Keeper is for your classic shot-stopper who you want glued to his line, while the No-Nonsense GK is for when you’re under the cosh and just need the ball punted into row Z.

It’s about giving you more conservative options, which is a massive win for anyone managing in the lower leagues with less technical players.

Advanced Centre-Back

But the real game-changer at the back is the Advanced Centre-Back. It’s a defender who has the license to break into the defensive midfield spot during build-up. Think of a modern Libero.

This is a massive tactical tool. Imagine pairing him with an Inverted Full-Back to cover the space he leaves. You could create some beautiful, fluid systems that completely dominate possession. It’s a level of tactical detail we’ve been crying out for. This isn’t just a role; it’s a statement about the direction the game is heading, towards total positional fluidity.

The Flanks Reimagined: Full-Backs and Wing-Backs in FM26

If you thought the centre-back changes were big, wait till you see what they’ve done to the wide defenders. This is where things get really wild. The number of new roles for Full-Backs and Wing-Backs is just insane.

It’s clear they want us to be able to create all sorts of overloads and complex movements out wide. No more just having a Full-Back on attack or a Wing-Back on support. Now you can get super specific.

For Full-Backs, we’re seeing some interesting new defensive options alongside the more aggressive roles: 

And then there’s the Wing-Backs. Oh boy, the Wing-Backs.

The Playmaking Wing-Back is basically a deep-lying playmaker but on the flank. He’s gonna be responsible for through balls and creating chances from deep.

Advanced Wing-Back is for those of you who want your wing-back to essentially be a winger who just happens to start a bit deeper. These roles give you so much more control over your team’s tactical style.

You can have one side super aggressive with a Pressing Wing-Back and the other more solid with a Holding Full-Back. Asymmetric tactics are about to get a whole lot more powerful.

Running the Show: A Complete Midfield Makeover

The engine room is gettin’ a complete refit. The changes in defensive and central midfield are all about giving you more specific tools to control the centre of the park. The old Defensive Midfielder role was a bit generic, wasn’t it?

Now you can define exactly how you want him to shield the defence. The Screening DM is designed purely to stand in the central zone and cut off passing lanes, a pure destroyer.

Wide Covering DM is a fascinating one, perfect for asymmetric formations where you need your DM to shift across and cover for an attacking full-back.

Dropping DM seems to be a more reactive version of the Half-Back, dropping into the defensive line when your team is under pressure, not just during build-up.

Then we move into central midfield, and things get creative. The Box-to-Box Midfielder is still there, of course, but he’s got some new mates.

Channel Midfielder is the one I’m really excited by. For years, I’ve tried to get my CMs to make those clever runs into the half-space, and it’s always been a struggle with player traits and instructions.

Now, there’s a specific role for it. Imagine a 4-3-3, you’ve got an Inside Forward cutting in from the left, and your left-sided Channel Midfielder bursting into the space he leaves behind. Unstoppable.

It’s these kinds of specific movements that show SI is really listening to how modern football is played. It’s going to be so much fun putting together a new squad in the planner with these roles in mind.

Unlocking Defences: New Attacking Midfielder and Winger Instructions

Right, now for the fun part. The guys who create the chances and make things happen. The Attacking Midfielder and Winger roles have been blown wide open.

The Attacking Midfielder position gets four incredible new roles.

The Tracking AM is a No. 10 who understands his defensive duties, dropping deep to help out. Then you have the counter-attacking specialists: the Central Outlet AM stays high and central, while the Splitting Outlet AM drifts wide. They stay high up the pitch, waiting for the turnover so you can launch a devastating fluid counter-attack.

The most exciting new role here is the Free Role. This seems to be the successor to the Trequartista, a player given complete creative liberty to roam and disrupt the opposition’s shape. It’s a role you build your entire team around, perfect for that one special wonderkid you’ve unearthed.

The winger position has been completely transformed. It’s not just about crossing or cutting inside anymore.

The Wide Playmaker is a massive addition. It’s a role we’ve needed for ages. Think of players like Angel Di Maria or classic David Silva when he drifted out left. They start wide but their main job is to come inside and dictate the play.

Half-Space Winger and Wide Forward are also brilliant additions that reflect the modern game. You can now properly define if your wide player is a creator, a goalscorer, or a bit of both. It adds so many more layers to your attacking set-piece routines and open play.

Reinventing the Striker: New Ways to Score Goals

And finally, the guys who put the ball in the net. The Striker position has also had a major rethink. While the classics like the Poacher and Target Forward are still there, they’re joined by a host of new roles designed to create movement and chaos for opposition defenders.

The days of having a static frontman are over unless you want them to be. The new roles are all about intelligence, energy, and exploiting space.

Here’s a look at the new boys up top:

The Channel Forward sounds like a nightmare to play against. He’s not a Poacher waiting for a chance; he’s actively making runs to pull the defence apart for others. Pairing him with a Second Striker could be an unbelievable combination of movement and goal threat.

These roles give you the chance to build a truly modern forward line. You could have one striker stretching the play, another dropping deep like a False Nine, and wide forwards attacking the box.

Tactical Combos to Daydream About

So, with all these new toys to play with, what are the first things we should be trying out when the FM26 release date finally arrives? The possibilities are pretty much endless, but here are some spicy combinations that the leak suggests could be devastating.

So, What Does This All Mean for Your FM26 Career?

When you look at it all, what’s the big picture? Is this just a case of renaming a bunch of stuff, or is it a proper expansion of the tactical engine?

Some of the more confusing or niche roles from past games, like the Segundo Volante or the Mezzala, seem to have been absorbed into these new, more clearly defined roles like the Box-to-Box Playmaker.

This is probably an effort to make the game a bit easier for new players to get into, which is fair enough. You shouldn’t need a coaching badge to understand what your midfielder is supposed to be doing.

But at the same time, this is a massive deepening of the tactical options available to us. Roles like the Pressing Full-Back, the Playmaking Wing-Back, and the Advanced Centre-Back are clear signs that FM26 is going to let us build highly positional and creative tactical systems.

We can finally, properly, try to recreate the intricate systems of managers like Pep Guardiola or Roberto De Zerbi. It’s about giving us the specific tools for the modern game.

The addition of so many ‘Outlet’ and ‘Tracking’ roles also shows a focus on creating distinct counter-attacking or defensive-minded players, adding another layer to the stories we can create with our teams. If this leak is real, FM26 is going to be a tactical sandbox unlike anything we’ve ever seen before.

FM26 New Player Roles FAQ