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Pano's 4-4-2 - Simple, Effective And It Gets Great Results
Introduction
Well this is my perfected 4-4-2 formation that I have been using in my FM games and it has been getting terrific results for me, most recently with Derby County of the Championship in my first season.
The shape of the tactic itself is a flat 4-4-2 formation with short farrows on the wingers.
The philosophy of the instructions given in this tactic is that most of the instructions should be set as 'team' instructions with some individual instructions added so that the tactic is well balanced.
Instructions
Mentality
Mentality is set to the first notch of attacking - with only the DC's set to a different mentality of 1.
Firstly, my DC's job is to defend and defend only so that is why they have a mentality of 1.
When we don't have the ball I would prefer it if everyone was in the same mentality range (ie. all attacking, all normal or all defensive etc). This is because I don't like having gaps in my team for the opposition to exploit, I like everyone to work together for the team as a unit.
The reason why I allow people in the d-line to be of a different mentality is because in defence their positioning when we don't have the ball in our own half is governed by the d-line team instruction setting and not their mentality. Since the d-line is matched with team mentality then when we don't have the ball in our half the whole team is 'effectively' on the same 'mentality' or 'position rating' if you would like to call it that.
The rest of the team has an high normal mentality mentality because when we have the ball I A) want to attack the opposition and B) I want the team apart from the d-line to have the same mentality in attack as they will work together better as a unit when attacking the opposition.
Some people prefer to split mentality across the team and have success with this and I certainly agree that it can work if set up properly. In no way if my way proven to be better. However, it is my preferred way of playing and it works well for me so that is why I set my team up in this way.
Creative Freedom
Creative Freedom is left on 11 for the team - while GK and DC's are set to little of 6 and the MCd is set to normal of 8.
I don't want my team to disobey my instructions too much and move out of their set positions too much in a bid to create chances. I like disciplined football. However, at the same time if there is a good opportunity to create something then they have the freedom to do it. I feel this is reflected in my set value of 11 for creative freedom.
However, obviously I don't want my GK, DC's and MCd to be very creative, they have to be disciplined.
Passing
Passing is set to direct of 16 for team - defensive line and GK set to higher setting of 19 while the strikers are set to a lower setting of 13 although they are still in the direct range.
The reason my passing is set to direct and is so high is because I love direct football, no messing about, just get forward and score goals and do it with speed.
My strikers obviously have a lower setting as they don't have any more players in front of them. Similarly the defenders have higher passing as they have A) more players in front of them to pick out B) I want to get into forward positions quickly, I don't want the ball to stay in defensive areas for long and C) I don't want my defenders to play shorter more dangerous passes and hold onto the ball for longer periods as this could lead to them losing the ball in dangerous areas.
Defensive Line
Defensive Line is linked to the average mentality of the midfield line and since all midfielders are on a mentality of 13 the defensive line is set to the same value.
For me I like the d-line to be set to average value of the midfielders mentalities simply because I want my defence to press up behind the midfield line. This will prevent large gaps appearing in between the defence and midfield which could be exploited.
Also I didn't set the team mentality too high because A) I didn't want my team to attack too much and be exposed but also B) because I didn't want to have my d-line set too high as in the top leagues players like Henry and Owen will be waiting to punish you.
Closing Down
Closing down is set to often for the team - except for DC's who are on 6 and fullbacks who are on a setting of 10.
Personally I like to close down the opposition a fair bit. I like attacking and scoring goals so when I lose the ball I want my team to try and win it back as soon as possible. I also don't like giving opposition players time and space, I don't want to send an invitation to a creative player like Kaka to have 10 years on the ball to pick out the perfect through ball.
My DC's I don't want drawn out of position though and leaving gaps for strikers to run into so their closing down is set to rarely. Fullbacks are in a similar situation although their closing down is mixed as wide areas are not as dangerous if they get caught out and also I want them lose down dangerous wingers to prevent them getting balls into the box.
I'm sure some others will think differently and think that sitting back and absorbing pressure is better because the play is in front of them with less risk of getting in behind or getting caught out of position. Fair play to the people who like to sit back and defend, I'm sure that method works as well as mine but its not my personal preference.
Tackling
Tackling is set to normal - although the GK, wingers and strikers are set to easy tackling.
Obviously I don't want people diving in and leaving unnecessary holes for opposition players to exploit, I also don't like the idea of red cards or an accumulation of yellows leading to suspensions. For these reasons I use normal tackling.
However, when picking wingers and strikers I don't look for a tackling stat, therefore, these players are exempt from normal tackling and are allowed to tackle easy. As for GK's I don't want them making rash challenges and costing me vitals goals so the GK's tackling is also easy.
Tempo
Tempo is set to the middle passing value of the team - I have 3 different passing settings across the team and the tempo is matched with the middle passing setting of 16.
I love to see fast, exciting football where we get the ball forward quickly and try to score straight away without wasting time. This is my preferred way of playing football and I personally believe it is very effective. It also generally works well when tempo is linked with passing and this was done here.
Width
Width is set to a wide setting of 15.
I love using the flanks, seeing the whole width of the pitch being utilised and seeing plenty of crosses getting into the box. This is simply my preferred style of play to watch and its reflected in this tactic.
Time Wasting
Time wasting is set to mixed with a value of 10.
I don't want my team to waste time all the time but I do want them to waste time when its appropriate, I'm sure they're smart enough to work that out, obviously I increase this in the last 10 minutes if I really need to hang onto a certain result.
Other Team Instructions
The other team instructions that I have set include - focus passing down both flanks, counter attack is ticked, target man is ticked and target man supply is set to head.
Some people do believe that having a target man set to head makes you one dimensional, predictable and makes for a less attractive style of football. My personal opinion though is that even with the target man set my team don't use him 'all the time'. In my experience they do base their attacks around him, that is the whole point of using one, however, they don't overuse him. I've found they use the target man when he is needed and in moderation. As a result I am very happy with using a target man and am happy with the style of football and results that this method brings.
Forward Runs, Run With Ball, Long Shots, Try Through Balls and Cross Ball
As for the players individual FR, RWB, LS, TTB and CB stats they are mainly set to the same instructions as can be found in the various default tactics. There are a couple of exceptions and they are that the MCd has forward runs set to mixed, the target striker has hold up the ball ticked and wingers and fullbacks are set to cross aim to the target man.
How To Tweak This Tactic
If you want to tweak this tactic to be more attacking or defensive then it is very, very simple. The simplicity of tweaking this tactic for the desired effect is the reason why I will only provide 1 version of this tactic to download. To make the tactic more attacking or defensive simply raise or lower the mentality and remember to raise or lower the defensive line by the amount. All the other instructions can be left the same.
Well that is all you need to know about my tactic. I will post screenshots at a later time and will certainly provide a download link at a later time soon as well, this will be done in the next 1 or 2 days, I promise.
I hope that A) my tactic works well for those people who wish to use it and B) my approach to making my tactic will help others in their approach when trying to make tactics.
If you have used my tactic then it would be great if you could post your results and also your thoughts on how my tactic works in a match. I’d also love to hear any suggestions you may have for improving this tactic.
Thanks for taking the time to read my thread!
06-20-2007, 05:37 AM
Pano's 4-4-2 - Simple, Effective And It Gets Great Results Post #2
Pano!
I gave your tactic a go with my third season Middlesbrough squad. After finishing 4th last year and gaining a champions leauge spot we started off really bad this season leaving us at 17th place in early december. Nothing really seemed to work so I was in great need of something drastic
Changed to your setup and went on a 5 game winning streak, winning manager of the month in December. The matches were tight but I felt I was in full control, creating chances and defending well.
In January there seem to be a slight change in how opposition teams approach you and maybe that could explain why I lost to reading in FA cup 0-1, drew away at cardiff 2-2 and then lost at home to Blackburn 0-1. Have to play a bit more before I say anythingn but thought I should give you some feedback anyway.
I´ll keep you updated...
06-20-2007, 04:34 PM
Pano's 4-4-2 - Simple, Effective And It Gets Great Results Post #5
Well here a couple of screenshots you may be interested in seeing.
With Derby in my first season ended up coming 2nd in the league and gained promotion. Note that this was achieved by buying no players, in fact I sold some senior players such as David Jones and Matt Oakley due to their substandard determination stat. So all in all I think it was quite a good achievement to win promotion with an average Derby side in my first season.
A particular success story of the season was my strikers - Steve Howard, Arturo Lupoli were the 2 main strikers and Craig Fagan was the backup. Any other players used in striking positions played 3 games or less so they are not worth mentioning.
So yeah the tactic has been a success for me and obviously I will continue testing it with Derby and, when I get around to it, other teams in Britain.
Cykelfan - glad to see you decided to give my tactic a try. Also happy to see that you won 5 games in a row with it and that you felt you deserved to win those games.
As for the 3 games without a win - Every team goes through a mini-slump every now and again and it could just be a case of a temporary form slump - at least the game you didn't win were only 1 goal losses plus the single draw.
Just a small tip - sometimes if your target man comes up against a monster defender then he may have trouble winning the balls that are directed towards him which normally lead to a good flow of goals. If this happens I would suggest 1 of 2 things - A) swap your target man with the other striker if the other central defender has a lower jumping stat or B) switch target man supply so that it is 'to feet'. Hope this helps.
I'm confident that you'll come out of the form slump but yeah we will have to wait and see. Keep us updated on your results, thoughts and suggestions. Thanks a lot for the feedback. :thup:
06-22-2007, 02:02 PM
Pano's 4-4-2 - Simple, Effective And It Gets Great Results Post #6
I am Chelsea in 2020. I know with this team everything is easier. But after many years my team is really different, I have to cope with a new generation of player. I don't have win the league for three year (Manchester City is amazing).
I was a little bit strugling and the way that my team played was not realy good.
I have done my own tactic which was successful by the past and tried a lot on this forum.
I have to say that your tactic gives me good results and more like that my team play fantastic football.
I try to tweak the two strikers because I don't have a real target man even if one player could do the job.
I will send screenshot in the end of the season to show you my futur success and talk about what I feel about your tactic more deeply.
Thank you guy.
06-28-2007, 07:00 PM
Pano's 4-4-2 - Simple, Effective And It Gets Great Results Post #8
Panomaniac: I am going to give your tactic a try with Sheff Wed. One question: I know you have the Target Man Box ticked but do you actually put a stiker into the targetman setting or just play with the setting empty and the box checked?
Pano's 4-4-2 - Simple, Effective And It Gets Great Results 
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