retired_debbie22

DLine = deep + width = narrow would = sit back and soak?

DLine = normal + width = wide would = set up camp?

Thanks

retired_kellyk

In my set up as well, the MC does not score a lot of goals, he does get a few from long range attempts, but these are due more to my setups for freekicks and corners.

He's the heart of my team, a player with good decisions, tackling and passing should always be in the MC position.

And another thing, these aren't tactics per se just a way of playing and keeping things simple.

My goal Sun Devil is to show that you can have one tactic albeit in 2 versions, one to soak up and one to hit back.

I've been in matches before where I have even considered pushing the D-line up because I failed to keep a clean sheet in the match.

There is a marked difference in approach by players when you do choose to play wide or narrow and these are clear in any game. The key is trying to find the right balance home and away.

I tend to sit deep and play slightly off normal for width when i'm away and not favoured to win, but I have to admit, I've never really created a soak up approach for a long time. This is really just one big work in progress, but it seems to work for me at least

retired_kellyk

DLine = deep + width = narrow would = sit back and soak?

DLine = normal + width = wide would = set up camp?

Thanks </BLOCKQUOTE>

Hmm yes it would appear to be as simpple as that but I'll need to find a simple way to add closing down to the whole system as well.

The way I play it now..is like this..
When I'm pushed up high my Defense half is told to stand off. That would appear logical, because if they are closing down heavily then I'd tend to lose out to a lot of deep balls going to my flanks.

When I'm sitting back defending its the reverse. Some of my players get more aggressive closing down instructions.

More on that later.

retired_anitarobinson

aye, I understand that, it IS however the best way of setting up a 4-3-3 type system I've found yet. I've tweaked myself here and there but as basic guidelines it works very well. :thup:

retired_kellyk

yeah I agree. Currently the 433 is a devastating tactic. Its all in the sliders and I know there are loads of people who will not like to hear that.

I'm now on a winning streak thats pulled me back into the title race. The approach was fairly simple:

At home:

The tactic is meant to be a high pressure tactic, played high up on the pitch and players are meant to hold spray the ball around. When the game kicks off I play at a high tempo, and then after securing the goal we drop back to a slow tempo. And without changing a single thing we've managed to finally improve our home form with successive home wins.

My approach really depends on who I play with, if its teams like United or Chelsea, I start with my home and if I find that they are making rampanat runs down my flanks I switch to my away strategy.

Away:
In all matches I stand off deep, as I expect to defend against rapid attacks. The key in both approaches lies in closing down. Because I'm playing so deep, I don't want my fullbacks overcommitted, so their closing down instructions are ridiculously low. Something I never expected to work. But it does.

I don't know if there is a correlation between..closing down and defensive line. But I've always believed that it existed. Mentality affects positioning as well as passing when with ball. So my mentality is never ever more than normal..the more positive it is the further my fullbacks seem to move up the pitch.


IMHO the best formation in the game is the default 433, properly tweaked it is the best tactic to use as a base.
The best way to look at is is:

With and without ball.

With ball it can attack with as many as 8 players on the pitch, four protecting the flanks and attacking down and another four surging into the box.

Without ball it defends with 5 in midifield and sometimes even 6.

retired_anitarobinson

Interesting you said about low closing down, the only joy I've had against arsenal, for instance, in the past is just to rarely close down and counter, home AND away, my players just cant get close if i close down heavily. currently 20 points clear with 14 games to go so I'll be trying out your theories in the prem

KUTGW mate :thup:

retired_kellyk

I've been doing this for a while now...trying one tactic and another just didn't make that much sense to me. So I decided to make things even more simpler.

I wanted to make my formation work both home and away without making too many fundamental changes. These are my assumptions.

When I need to attack more and get my wingers more into play I need to increase width.

If closing down instructions work well with a team, then they should logically work well whether I'm home or away. They still close down the same amount. The only thing I have to do is to change is how deep I want to defend.

Although D-line does not seem to accurately potray itself on screen it has to have an effect on the match engine. Perhaps the visual representation is far behind the engine's development. This is logical considering the fact that the Staff Interaction Module is behind the Match Engine module.

Having these assumptions in mind and knowing that good defense is a factor of attributes, defensive line, mentality and closing down. I proceeded to fine tune the closing down instructions.

My closing down instructions for my fullbacks and my dcs are low, however the closing down instructions for the MCr and MCl
are high. The MCd has CD = to the highest defender. Upfront its full. At home it does the trick.

Now mentality.
The mentality is set two notches above normal.

As far as the rest of the player instructions are I set them as if I play my normal game...these are defaulted. So I never change them unless one of my players is really screwing up his passes.

Now its time to set it up for home and away matches.

Width is defaulted to three notches above normal. I think. Can't really recall. But its my default

At home these are the sliders I play with..

1. Defensive Line is set to push up
2.Offside trap is on
3. My tempo is quick


If I find that the opposition is sitting back too much I increase width.

Now away from home...same tactic.

1. Defensive line is deep
2. Counter attack is on
3. My tempo is slow

Role of Assman
I have decided to try my hand at managing morale now. So I handle teamtalks. These seem to work. I target specific players who are not playing well and their morale seems to improve.

Results
After an indifferent start to the season, I introduced this tactic and was playing around for a while till I settled on this approach. I'm now on a 7 game winning streak in the EPL. Average goals scored is 3 and average goals scored per game is .7

This approach is pretty simple and depending on who I face..if i need to add pressure...I just move up the field increase tempo, or if I want to sit back and soak I pull it back.

retired_bassclar84

i hate you, i really hate you with every bone in my body

retired_anitarobinson

why say that? what a bizarre statement if you don't agree with it or find it interesting why bother posting?

interesting stuff yet again, I'll implement, see what happens

retired_anitarobinson

sorry for the double post...

assuming the highest defender has CD of 10 still, does this mean that the MCd also has CD of 10 and that the other central defender is still on rarely and the FB's have now been changed to rarely? (formally 16?)

or am I misunderstanding the the phase 'highest defender'?