zenfurni1

Zenfurni's LL Keep It Simple, Stupid for FM08

I would hardly consider myself a tactics whiz, but it appears I've stumbled onto a good one for a Lower League side. First off, thanks go to WWFan for his Rule of One, which I've (somewhat) incorporated here, as well as to all the good people who have been discussing the issues with closing down/marking in FM08.

So far I've tested it with newly promoted Rodengo in Serie C2/A in Italy, and I ended up cruising to a 3-loss season atop the Serie C2/A with the most goals scored and least conceded, both home and away.

First off, the formation is a boring old counter-attacking 4-3-3, with a lone striker, farrowed wingers, two CM's and a DM.

Team Instructions (how many notches from mixed):
Passing - 2nd notch of Direct
Width - 2nd notch of Narrow (medium pitch)
Creative Freedom - 2nd notch of Little
Closing Down - maximum (game engine issues)
Tight Man Marking for everyone.

Individual Instructions:

GK, DC - 1 mentality for GK, 10 for DC's
Everything on rarely, I just want them to defend. Seems to work well.
DR/L - 10
Forward runs, run with ball, and cross ball on mixed.
DM - 9
Defensive workhorse here, plays a little deeper. Through balls, run with ball to mixed, everything else rarely.
MCL - 10
This is the more conservative player of the two midfielders.
Everything on mixed.
MCR - 11
I want this guy to be one of the best players on my team, preferably an AMC. Forward runs, run with ball, and through balls on often, cross ball and long shots on mixed.
AMR/L - 12
These guys have similar instructions to the MCR, but short passing. Also, cross ball on often.
FC - 11
This is a stronger guy who holds up the ball, but not necessarily a target man. He has forward runs, long shots, and run with ball on mixed, crossing and through balls on rarely. Short passing just like the wingers.

OK, so it's not actually Rule of One. Why? Because of the issues with defender mentality and closing down... when defender mentalities go too low, they end up playing way back and not going for the ball until it's too later. The DM, on the other hand, can play back a little bit and the FC is more of a deep-lying type, hence the lower mentality. There is still a good level of understanding between the players, but I'm sure I can tweak it to improve.

I play the same home and away, except I will untick counter-attacking at home against an easier opponent, and maybe put a farrow on the MCR.
Against superior opponents, I changed my MCL into a DM and came out with a draw. Didn't play enough games to be conclusive.

I would love to see how other people do with this set-up, and what tweaks they might suggest. I'm not at my FM computer now, but I might upload the tactic and post pictures in a few hours.