retired_jtingle

Last season, a number of posters ran threads comparing some of the standard formations within the game against each other. This season I thought I'd make a start on one myself, so I've begun with some of the more popular and most basic tactics there are.

In order to test these tactics, I am using multiple copies of the same save, so that, at the beginning of the test period, each one is identical. As my “guinea pig” I decided to go for the team that I support, Gillingham, since they have players for each position that the test will cover and are in a lower division, where I personally think that these tests would show a greater difference in results between each tactic. Also, it would be nice to see which of them best suit the team that I will ultimately be trying to steer to greatness...
Each test will be run using a 'Holiday Manager', starting from 10th August '07 and holidaying 'til 1st January '08, forcing the AssMan to 'use current tactic', with no other settings changed.

Anyway, the tactics I have chosen to start off with are...

1.4-4-2 Normal (As basic a starting block as there is!)
2.4-5-1 Normal (A personal favourite shape and one I think gets widely used.)
3.4-3-3 Normal (Another popularly used shape.)
4.5-3-2 Counter (Different shape, primarily hoping to test 'counter' effectiveness.)
5.4-4-2 Diamond Attacking (Will it show a difference to standard 442?)


I can't see too much need to test any other standard formations, so I am aiming to add a number of custom formations to the list once I have completed these five.

...and that's where you guys can help me. I would be grateful for anyone who has a custom formation (whether good or bad) that they would like to submit for testing. Simply upload it to any of the various file hosts available and add a link with your reply, in this thread and I will check it out and, if it looks interesting enough, I'll add it to the list.

retired_jtingle

[b}First test complete – 4-4-2 Normal[/b]

So, at the end of the first sample, results were about what I'd expect...

League Matches
-Pld----W----D----L----F----A----Pts----Pos
--23----7----4---12---25---39-----25-----19th

Cup Games
J.Paint - 1st Rnd
League Cup - 1st Rnd
FA Cup – Reached 3rd Rnd

So, the 442 Normal test gives pretty much the kind of result that mirrors the media prediction for the club. It certainly doesn't cause any shocks anyway.

retired_jtingle

[b}Second test complete – 4-5-1 Normal[/b]

Well, that didn't go so well...
“Holiday Manager” managed to get himself sacked after just 17 games in charge, so I didn't get as much data from this one as I thought. Nut, I guess the sacking itself says more than anything!

League Matches
-Pld----W----D----L----F----A----Pts----Pos
--17----3----3---11---17---33----12-----Sacked


Cup Games
J.Paint - 1st Rnd (pens)
League Cup - 1st Rnd (pens)
FA Cup – 1st Rnd

Terrible results from this one make the 4-4-2 look almost acceptable. It's becoming clear, though that standard formations, while in FM06 and FM07 could be used with a small degree of success, are way below par in FM08. It has obviously become more important to set up your tactics based on your players.

retired_jtingle

4-3-3 Normal

Another poor performing tactic. “Holiday Manager” collected his P45 again. This time, just a single game before the end of the test period.

League Matches
-Pld----W----D----L----F----A----Pts----Pos
--22----5----6---11---18---29---21-----Sacked

Cup Games
J.Paint - 1st Rnd
League Cup - 1st Rnd (Pens)
FA Cup – 2nd Rnd (Replay)

Although yielding better results than the 4-5-1 test, this tactic still doesn't hold up against the opposition at all. Saying that, a sacking on this game shows that the 4-4-2 Normal test game (which yielded only 4 more points from just 1 extra game), could so easily have gone the same way.
I'm getting the feeling that none of the tactics will show any signs at all. But at least they'll serve a purpose by hopefully showing how much better the good tactics are.

retired_jtingle

5-3-2 Counter

How wrong was I! It would seem that simply changing the shape can have a massive bearing on the performance. Remember, none of these first five tests have any team or player instructions set, so they are just controlled simply by the tactic's shape and this one seems to work...

League Matches
-Pld----W----D----L----F----A----Pts----Pos
--23----9----7----7---27---32---34-----11th


Cup Games
J.Paint - 2nd Rnd
League Cup - 1st Rnd
FA Cup – In 3rd Rnd

Although not exactly storming the league, this setup seems to be fairly solid. While not scoring any great number of goals (the biggest win it achieved was 3-0), it's created more than any of the other tests so far, which may be a surprise since it's fundamentaly a defensive setup. I'm sure that with a few changes to the style of play and some complementary player instructions, this could have been made into something pretty good.

retired_jtingle

Am running test 5 now, and will report it back soon. I'll be putting all of the different setups into a league table format, for easier reference later.

I think, once I've done with number 5, I'll try creating some very basic tactics of my own, with some simple team instructions, just to see difference that can be achieved.

What does everyone think? Should I try the 4-4-2 Normal again and just replay it with changes to one slider on each game? Maybe one with -5 mentality, then another with +5 mentality, just to demonstrate the effect of mentality itself?

Suggestions welcome...

retired_jtingle

4-4-2 Diamond Attacking

After the initial 4-4-2 test, I really didn't expect much from this one. Once again "Holiday Manager" got the boot, this time after 21 games in charge.

League Matches
-Pld----W----D----L----F----A----Pts----Pos
--21----3----6---12---19---43---15-----Sacked


Cup Games
J.Paint - 1st Rnd (Pens)
League Cup - 1st Rnd
FA Cup – 2nd Rnd (Replay)

As I expected, this performed worse than the 4-4-2 Normal setup. Not surprising really, since it is essentially an attack minded tactic, it was prone to over-committing and leaving the opponent ample chance to score. (Coupled with the fact that Gillingham don't really have the players to use an attack-minded system).

retired_jtingle

League of success/failure so far...

Tactic--------------Pld----W----D----L----F----A----Pts----Pos
532 Counter---------23----9----7----7---27---32---34-----11th
442 Normal----------23----7----4---12---25---39---25-----19th
433 Normal----------22----5----6---11---18---29---21-----Sacked
442 Diamond Att-----21----3----6---12---19---43---15-----Sacked
451 Normal----------17----3----3---11---17---33---12-----Sacked


So only one tactic has so far produced anything like acceptable form. Time to add a few custom ones to the mix and see if we can't better it then.

I think I'll try out the successful(ish) 532 Counter with a few team instructions added.

With this shape I would, personally, be inclined to play defensively, using direct passing, quick tempo and (as the default name suggests) counter attacking switched on, so lets give that a try and see if it makes any improvement to the performance. My guess is that it won't show a great deal of improvement and may even perform worse. I'm not even convinced that rerunning the test with an unchanged formation would produce the same results next time.

retired_dezipoo

if i upload my version of 442 would you try it?

retired_dezipoo

http://www.fileshost.com/en/file/10189/4-4-2-Defensive-...--Nov-2007--tac.html


i tried to make it defensive but creating lots for me, shame i cant finish the chances tho lol