Mr. Lionel

I first used this tactic on FM07. I found it on another board, tweaked it a little bit, and found some success with it. After playing my first FM08 game with a regular ol 442, I decided to start a new game using this 2-3-2-3 tactic, and using Befica. I picked Benfica because 1) they have a lot of good players that fit this tactic; 2) they have Freddy Adu (I'm American, and he is our golden boy); and 3) I went to a Benfica match this spring and it was a lot of fun (lol the crowds at MLS matches are so boring).

The types of players that should be used for this tactic:
-In addition to the usual requirements for DCs, they should have good pace and acceleration.
-The WBs are really the key to the attack.... They should be pacey, good passers, good at dribbling and delivering crosses. I experimented a bit with using my RWB Nelson as a playmaker. It worked OK, but not great.
-The two AMCs that I've used (Adu and Di Maria) are both very fast, good passers and good dribblers. They both score a lot of goals, so finishing and composure are also important for this position.
-For my three strikers, I like to play Cardozo in the middle (he's a big, strong, good in the air, but not very pacey striker) and play Nilmar and Love (more balanced strikers with good pace) on the outsides.

Here's the formation:


and here are my team instructions:


when I play against weaker teams, I go to a more attacking tactic, using the same formation. These are the team instructions for that tactic:


I have a defensive tactic that I use to protect a lead at the end of games. It's just a standard 4132 with a defensive midfielder and timewasting set on high.

ok, back to my regular tactic... here are some of the key individual instructions:
mentality:


closing down:


try through balls: (I score a lot of goals off of good through balls)


Here's a download for the tactic: link

Training:
I have a different training schedule for each position (GK, DC, WB, DMC, AMC, fast strikers, strong strikers). In the beginning of the season, I turn the workload for these schedules up high. Once the players get into excellent condition, around October or November, I turn the intensity of each schedule down to medium.

Roster:
In the three seasons I've played with this team, I haven't bought very many players, since Benfica already has a lot of the types of players that fit with my tactic. But here are some of my key purchases:
-LWB Guilherme from Vasco for 8M euros in my first season- good young D/WB who became my first team LWB.
-Juan Manuel Torres from San Lorenzo for 1.4M euro in my first season- Torres was one of my favorite players to play at DMC in FM07. I tried him with my first team for a while, but he wasn't very good so I went back to playing Diego Souza at DMC.
-Vagner Love from CSKA Moscow for 4.2M euro in my second season - I didn't have enough good strikers and Love's contract with Moscow was expiring, so was able to pick him up cheaply.
-Nilmar from Ajax for 11.5M euro in my third season - another very good striker. With him and Love on the roster I was able to use Mantorras and Berseggio (strikers who were on the roster when i started the game) as cover.
-Gianni Zuiverloon for 14M euro from Napoli mid-way through my third season - David Luiz is a good young DC on Befica. He was on my first team of the first 2 and a half years of the game, but he was demanding a transfer and wasn't playing well. So I sold him to Roma for 24M euro and I bought Zuiverloon to replace him. Zuiverloon has done well in the few months I've had him.

Results:
07/08:


I didn't score as many goals as I would have liked, but I had a good season for the most part. Porto had a very strong season and ran away with the league title. I won the Portuguese League Cup. I qualified for the knockout phase of the Champions League (barely)


But I lost in the first round 6-2 against Barcelona.

08/09


This season was a lot of fun to play. I scored a ton and I conceded very few goals.

I qualified for the knockout round of the champions league again, but I lost the first leg 2-0 at Old Trafford, and in the second leg ManU used a very defensive tactic and I couldn't score, so I lost 2-0 on aggregates.


I won the Portuguese Cup and the League Cup, for a domestic treble.

09/10

I didn't score as many as the season before, and I conceded more. The weak teams in the league played very defensively against me, so I had a lot of 0-0 and 1-0 games. Using my aggressive tactic worked a little bit, but not nearly as much as I would have liked.

Again I won the Portuguese Cup and the League Cup. I did well the CL group stage again, but this time I did surprisingly well in the knockout stage. In the first round, I beat Real Madrid 5-2, then I beat Munich 5-1. In the semifinal against Inter, I won on penalties, and then I beat Juventus in the final 4-1.

kayleshort34

I must say that post is presented very well, the tatic has had good testing over the time, i will definelty look at d/l this one and giving it ago (y)

WesP

this post is indeed presented very well, and i am going to give it a try as my supporters have just requested that i change my current tactics, which i find very interesting.

fmaddikt

this post should deffinately be used as an example to others about how to present a tactics thread, very infomative and easy on the eye!

nufc365

Orite Mr. Lionel, interesting stuff the tactic looks good and seems perfect for the squad I've got at the moment so I'll definetly be trying this out.

I see you're from the States has David Beckham made much of an impact over there?