retired_bigtomson

Intro

I have decided to try and stop the rot at my favorite club, Bradford City, using FM Formations update which means I start in the bottom tier of english football.

Reason

The reason for doing this is because I have created a tactic which seems to work fine in Europe but have not had great success in England. It has been tested in Italy with AC Milan where I went 47 games unbeaten winning everything possible in one season. After feeling it had been proved in Italy I moved to the Netherlands with Ajax where I went on a 36 match unbeaten run. I have not yet finished that season but again from this I decided it could be implemented in Holland as well.

I had a short spell with West Ham but could not get the same success (not expecting to go on a huge unbeaten run but expected to beat lower clubs comfortably). So I have now decided to try again in League 2 with my hometown club.

The Tactic

Ok enough rambling heres the tactic . . .

Originally it consisted of a basic 4-1-2-1-2 formation using a target man. this did not work as said earlier, in the english league so I changed it to a basic 4-4-2 formation and changed a number of the team instructions and also my approach to different situations. My defence in any tactic is always the same as I find it makes a very solid back four. Right staring from the back:

DR/DL (barrows so that they do not get caught out with balls over the top)
I have set the mentality at 5 which does seem too defensive on the face of it but it works and keeps my back four solid which is what I aim for first.Creative freedom, passing, tackling and closing down are all set to team. Forward runs, run with ball, long shots and through balls are all set to mixed which does not rule out the option for them to take and attacking approach when the time arises. Cross ball is set to often so that the send balls over the top of the opposition defence from deep which with my tall striker (Mirnes Ibrahimovic (Slovenian)), works quite well. For set pieces I always leave my fullbacks at the back so that they can keep the pace with a quick break away.

DC's

Ok my CB's have a mentality of 4 which keeps them solid with with the fullbacks. I have set their closing down to 5 which makes sure they do not lunge into challenges willy nilly. Creative freedom, passing and tackling are set to team. Forward runs and run with ball are set to rarely to ensure they dont go wandering up the field. Long shots, through balls and cross ball are set to mixed so that if they happen to be in an attacking situation such as from a corner, they are not limited.

I have my tallest defender on the front post when it comes to corners (with the coner instructions set to aim for near post) which gets me quite a few goals over a season and many times they are crucial goals.

Ok that's the defence sorted, I will explain the team instructions later as this is the basis of my tactic but all the individual instruction stated never change.

MR/ML (farrows to the AMR/AML positions)

The top five instructions are set to team apart from creative freedom which is set to 13. Forward runs are on often so they get forward with the attack and run with ball, long shots and through balls are set to mixed. Cross ball is on often.

MC (i have a defensive minded one and an attacking minded one, heres the defensive one)

Mentality is set to 6 so in affect they are a fifth defender when on the defensive. Creative freedom, passing, closing down and tackling are on team. Run with ball is set to rarely so that when he gets the ball he looks to get rid early. Forward runs is mixed along with cross ball and long shots. Through balls is set to often. Hold up ball is ticked to allow the attack to move forward before releasing the ball.

MC (the attacking minded one)

Creative freedom is set to the same as the wingers, 13. Closing down, mentality and passing is set to team. Forward runs is set to often with long shots and run with ball set to mixed and through balls often. Cross ball is also set to mixed. I did originally have this player set to free role but with the lack of talent I have not implemented it.

ST's

Apart from one having forward runs set to mixed and the other set to often these setting are the same for both my strikers. Creative freedom is set to 12, passing is set to the second notch of short to ensure the keep the ball in the attack and play short flick ons which allows them to play one twos with each other and their wingers. Mentality is set to team with closing down. Run with ball, through balls, long shots and cross ball are set to mixed. I have their marking set to zonal so that when I play man marking in some games, they are free when we regain possession.

Ok well theres the most of my individual settings. When it comes to team settings they change in every game. My main logic is that I play to the opposite of what the scout reports say, for example if they play high tempo I play slows with short passing. When I play short passing I have a slow tempo whereas when I play direct I play a high tempo game.

I have implemented man marking into my tactics for the first time also. In tough games where they are creative on the ball I play man marking to limit their options, this works a treat especially away from home. Also I use this when in the cup matches against higher league teams such as when I played Bristol City who are in the championship. I took the game to extra time and lost 2-1 which was down to my keeper making a blunder and the other goal was a penalty given away so not a bad result I felt.

Mentality is normally attacking when at home and defensive away. When I play defensive I usually tick counter attack.

Closing down and defensive line I use with each other. Against tough teams I usually push up with closing down set fairly high as well and play offside ticked. I find it very effective and I am slowly coming to the idea of having this as my default setting for all matches.

Results

I started the season with a loss and a draw in the league, Since then I have gone on an 8 match unbeaten run in the league which involves beating MK Dons 2-1 who are top of the table currently by two points with me in second. I hope to finish in the top two, anything less would be a failure in my eyes.

Well thats the jist of it. I will keep you updated of how I get on.

please comment and suggest areas which could be improved or ask any questions where I have not explained very well lol.

Thanks

retired_dorisbove

looks like it going to work in league 2 but it would be better if it work in the prem but looks like a good tactic for europe and lower league teams :thup:

retired_dorisbove

sorry about double post you could tell us what type of players work best such as stats they need to fit your tactic

retired_bigtomson

for my forwards I always like to use at least 1 strong tall player who can knock the defenders around a bit. for my defensive MC I use a good tackling player who also has good strength and passing. Determination is a bonus as well

My fullbacks have to be pacey with good tackling and position ability.

My CB's usually have good positioning, tackling heading, marking and strength.

I haven't tried this particular tactic after the changes I made to the original, in the premiership so if you want to try it by all means go for it and post your results :thup:

i was hoping that within 5-6 years I could be in the premiership so then we will see if it works

retired_bigtomson

ooops forgot.... my attacking MC usually has good passing, technique, creativity

retired_bigtomson

Well my little run came to an end against stockport who I lost to 1-0 away. Despite the result I was still pleased it was down to my tactic choice with the man marking system. I was too conservative against a mid-table team and even though I changed to zonal mid-way through the game it was too late.

After this I trampled a poor barnet side only to win 2-1. I had 60% of position after switching to a short passing game after 20mins. I then played Brentford and drew 0-0 again with large amounts of the game.

This then led to a 3-1 drubbing away at Bury. Time to sort my strikers out and look closely at the match stats to see where I am losing these games as possession and completion ratios show that I am playing well

leftfoot

Interested to see how you get on. I tried a similar thing and the game just crushed my ego. In middle of January I was sitting 22nd with Swindon with only 6 wins. Naturally the Chairman gave me the boot, why he took so long to do it god only knows

Did you base this decision on looking at their attributes? The thing is that the AI gives free roles based on the hidden free role attribute which is often not linked to the visible attributes. If you would like to be put on a level playing field with the AI I have some information that might prove useful.

retired_bigtomson

Did you base this decision on looking at their attributes? The thing is that the AI gives free roles based on the hidden free role attribute which is often not linked to the visible attributes. If you would like to be put on a level playing field with the AI I have some information that might prove useful. </BLOCKQUOTE>

No I go based on his attributes. TBH I could find that info using the FMM but I like to play the game as it is supposed to be played. Thanks anyway.

I like my free role player to have good technique, passing, decisions and creativity. Obviously in League 2 I don't really have that player lol.

leftfoot

How is the AM performing so far minus the free role? Is he performing in a similar way to with the higher quality teams?

I don't mean necessarily with goals/assists but just in terms of his influence.

retired_bigtomson

He's starting to gel with the team now as he is a new signing from Wycombe, Sergio Torres. The only problem is he keeps getting injured. But when he is playing he plays very well dictating play just as I expect from my free role player at a higher level. Usually steps up with the winning pass/goal in the "sticky" games.