retired_mhtchang

OK. I am 39, I have been playing this game consistently in its different guises since the age of 17. Its seen off 2 wives and now on my third!! I have never posted anything in the past but feel compelled to now.

People posting their 'killer' tactic is fine...apart from the fact that it may not work for anyone else.

Here is the truth about tactics in the game. Each one is bespoke to your team. This is my process:
1 - I join a club and assess the plying staff
2 - My preferred style is 442, but if the club has been plying with wing backs for example, I stay with that
3 - Important - PLAY YOUR TACTICS TO YOUR PLAYERS STRENGTHS
4 - I make sure that I have 2 players in each position. So, my 442 looks like the following
- 2 gk
- 2 full backs per side. 1 strong tackler and 1 good at going forward
- 4 cen def. 1 good in the air, one fast, both good at marketing and tackling, 2 all rounders, not that outstanding at anything ariel or speed wise.
- 4 outside midfielders. 2 out and out wingers, 2 that are more wide midfielders and are good at tackling
- 4 central midfielders. 2 tacklers with high speed and stamina so that they can press around the pitch and 2 more attacking with good passing and dribbling skills
- 4 strikers. 2 good in air and strong so that they can bounce defenders off and hold up ball if you need to. 2 more fast strikers to add to the mix

Sounds simple?? This may take a couple of seasons to put together. Be patient, dont go out and panic buy. FM 2008 has so many great scouting features, use them.

5 - Use the notebook to list the players you need and go for the 2 players per position. Ship the rest out as soon as you can.

Thats the players for my 442. Now to the tactics

1 - I have 442 home and 442 away
442 home is attacking with my wingers attacking and my 2 attacking full backs playing, not my defending ones. I play 1 def mid and 1 att mid.I will get to the cen def and attackers shortly

442 away is more defensive and counter attacking. More defensive players throughout the team and my 2 quick attackers. I sit deep with counter attack on and my target man is my fastest striker and I set to play the ball in front of him to run onto.

OK - Important bit - Variations to above tactics.

I look at my opposition before match day. I click to sort by position that they played in their last game on the squad menu. I look at their back 4. I use the notes here and list if they are strong/weak, fast/slow or good/bad in the air. i do the same with the rest of the team and look out for any strengths in areas. My notes generally look like this.

Def - slow at back but strong. Jim weak in air.
Mid - Weak in strength. Good passers and creative
For - Both good in air but slow.

I choose my tactic, for this I would use my away tactic. I would man mark their entire midfield man for man and play my strongest midfield tacklers. As they are weak I will win all tackles and dominate midfield. I would play both my arial central defenders, not worrying about speed as I will play deep and counter attack. I will man mark here too. (I dont always man mark - just for this example) I would set the back 4 to pass direct, they will generally go for the fast target man over the top.

I will watch the extended highlights and see where my weaknesses are or where I am exploiting their defence. If its going into a dull draw I will free up some of the man marketing and bring more creative players on. If the fast strikers arent working because their defense is sitting back I will rbring on 1 strong taget man and aim to him, either head or feet to hold it up. Set him more defensively and my fast stiker attaking and run forward. You often see the changes work with new target man heading over the top for the fast striker to run onto.

I could go on forever, but the point is 442, 433 424, 532...are all killer tactics with the right players.

As a footnote, season 2 I add in 2 more variations of tactics and sneak them into pre season games or when I am winning by 2-3 goals. this gets the players used to playing them. For the record, my newest addition to above tactics is a very good 4-1-2-2-1 with my 2 att mid playing between midfield and attack and set to create havoc running forward and very attacking. my target man is normally a holding one here. This works a treat against a defence that is 'hard to break down'. They wont come out to ark that far. I also set the attack mid to come back and help when they dont have ball by putting arrows back.

Set your heart on a strategy and develop it. i promise it will work

retired_abelin

:thup: for a good, sensible post. Staying true to a system and keeping things controllable and fairly simple sure is a very sensible way to approach this game.

retired_management team

Great post! The moderators should make this as automatic answer to anyone who asks for a killer tactic!

bullworker

brilliant post mate. :thup:

retired_allison2316

Nice post :thup:

Though you either overexagerated your time playing the game (or I missunderstood you completely). If you're 39 playing since 17 you started in 85', but the first CM came in 92'

Cheers

retired_mandersonphx

Excellent post Colly. I, like you, have played this for years and have also been through two wives lol.

There is no standard tactic that will 'kill' all opposition! The information about the players, systems and formations is there for a reason so use it.

I must admit that '08 is very challenging and even a veteran such as myself is getting caned by the opposition at the moment but i live in hope that i will crack it before it cracks me and the PC goes outta the study window :-).

Colly, great post...

retired_mhtchang

It feels like I have been playing since 17....you should see the bags under my eyes. Glad the post helped some people. I have played it since the start and love it more than life itself!!

retired_maverick8

Good post mate :thup:

retired_mhtchang

Thanks for the feedback guys, the forum is great for tips. I have to add to the above post, dont mess with it too much and be patient, also try and keep your top players happy. Nathan Tyson is a pain in the backside for me, but half my team like him and when he is fed up (regularly) so are half the team. I offered him a new contract (top earner) and he was happy for a while, the team morale was higher and the results were top notch. He is now unhappy again... damn you Tyson!

matts0344

I'm guessing colly's talking about the original Football Manager on the spectrum or similar. In that case I can join him, except I was only 9 in 1985. Used to get up at 6.30 or 7 in the morning to get a few matches in before school.