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I am not very good at making tactics from scratch, so, struggle at the initial stages!
Anyways, I was trying to create this 4-1-2-2-1, but did not get very far. The problem I face is that sometiomes I do not know as to how I want my team to play . For example, in this situation, what exactly are the roles of the AMC's and MC's. Should the striker be a strong one? How far up could the wingbacks go!
In essence, I do not wish to know teh settigns, but some discussion as to what can I aim to get out of this setup!
Originally posted by Joor:
AC Milan System.
Im focusing on the "x-mas tree" formation which Carlo Ancelotti has been using alot lately in important matches. Milan play a slow tempo, short passing game all around the pitch, they defend deep with zone marking and the offside tactic is used. The central defenders mark tight and the fullbacks, who need high anticipation and positioning, does not.
Its vital to close down fast and high up the field , the forward and both AMC need to keep pressure on the opponents( to disturb opponents build-up play ) - same goes for all midfielders.
Ancelotti prefer experienced players with great understanding of the game (anticipation, decisions, positioning, team work and off the ball skills) - the average
age of the first team is 28. Its becourse young players are more affected by morale, they generally lack the experience and confidence to be able to battle or get
motivated when things aren’t going well and tend to differ hugely in performance. In contrast, older professional players who can handle the pressure, will turn
in consistent efforts regardless of their morale. Rotation is needed, to keep the important player's energy up, especially players in the Amc and Forward position who run and close down alot - any offensive player with a condition under 80 should be replaced. All midfielders should have enough stamina and can play 90 min, so you dont have to subsitute them, same goes for the defenders.
Mentality, Creative freedom and passing style.
What I have seen is that; mentality does change the players position, but its also how likely a player is to make an attacking move, take chances etc. F.eks Both central defenders have 5 mentality ,5 creative freedom and short passing so they 8 out 10 just pass it to the nearest player. But if its not possible, the
Decision stat plays a major part.You have to look at each player abilites and what role he plays on the pitch.
Gattuso's role, the right mc, is to break up and disturb the opponents build-up play and pass it short to one of the more creative midfielder like Pirlo, seedorf
or kaka - even tho hes intelligent( anticipation, decisions, positioning and team work)you should not give him high mentality or creative freedom, becourse of the
low technique, creativity and passing skill. Dont even let him runs with the ball or try a killer ball ..its not hes job
Lets take Kaka - fantastic technique, great creativity and decisions, which primary role is to attack, score goals and make that killer pass into the lone
forward. Give him high mentality and creative freedom(18 what I use) ..let him have that freedom, hes smart enough to make the right decision in the right moment
and has the skill to do so.
The player instruction tell him to run with ball often, but maybe he decide another option in the right moment - and that can be important.
Also by giving the freerole option - he moves around the pitch trying to find the free space.. left, right, forward and deep. I choose this option since hes
position stats are very low(4- why SI?). Like everyone else in the team, passing settings is short, there no reason for him to try a long ball - if the short
option isnt possible, he can run, try killer ball, stop and hold up ball or even shoot on goal.
Both fullback role in the Milan system is to support the attack as often as possible. They move forward on the sides to keep the field wide and good offensive
skills is essential. I set mentality on 15 and again you have to look at the individuel players skill to decide how much creative freedom each should have.. when
playing Cafu on the right side, with good technique, passing and dribbling skills, I give him 10 creative freedom. I trust him and im sure he will make the right
choice(17 decision).
When Oddo is playing I set him on 5 - the only offensive skill hes good at is crossing, so I dont want to see him try a killer ball or failed to dribble past 2
defenders - 14 decisions isnt enough to give him more freedom, not as fullback, so following my instruction is a much better option.
I said everyone in the team pass the ball short, that is wrong ..Pirlo has a special role.
As a DMC, who dictates the play, with 20 passing, 20 creativity and 19 technique, he is allowed to pass is anywhere on the field.
Again, hes great intelligens combined with good technique makes him reliable and he will choose the best possible pass 90% of the time(hopefully). 10 passing, 16
mentality and 17 Creative freedom is what I use.
The higher mentality also make him move abit further up the field inbetween the other two central midfielder - but it doesnt get him to close the opponents
penalty aera when we attack, as it would if he played as standard MC.
You get the idea now..Only give alot of freedom to players with good desision skill + the ability to make things happen.
Team Instruction.
Tempo is on 3 all 90 min, a patience build up and good composure is vital.
Start with low timewasting(5), and as soon as you score the first goal put it on medium (10). In the last 10-15 min of the game you can set it on often(15) to
really annoy the opponents ( temperamental player dont like this..and you will see them make fouls/getting card etc etc ).
First Season almost done and im 2nd only few points after inter. I could have done alot better, but in the first 5-6 matches I tried to meny different instruction which gave to meny 0-0 1-1.
It's a 4-1-2-1-2, but the principles are basically the same. The only big difference being how I set up the front three. You could theoretically set up the attacking triangle in the same exact way regardless if its one AMC and two STs, or two AMCs and one ST depending on the type of players. It could be a nice experiment.
You're losing the ball in midfield then, I imagine.
Think of a 4-4-2, a 5-4-1 or a 4-5-1 pitched against a 4-1-2-1-2, or a 4-1-2-2-1. Your midfield is very light in comparison, and this comes due to the nature of the formation itself. You have to dig in there and make it more meaty via player instructions.
Because, suppose, in a 4-1-2-1-2, if you tell your DMC to defend most of the time, your AMC to attack most of the time and your MCs to act as wingers most of the time (pretty common setup), when it comes down to it, that's a 4-4-2 Diamond. You're basically gifting the midfield to any flat formation of more than 3 in the middle.
The way I tried to solve creating that huge gap was first to push the DMC up. Not via position, or farrows, but simply not setting him as defensively. If that didn't cover things, then I tell the AMC to come back more in the same way. Might be worth a shot.
4-1-2-2-1, some setup advice needed! 
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