Ok, so after starting unemployed with an automatic reputation, I got offered the manager job at Stalybridge who were in 21st position of the Conference North, made no signings and went on this run:
I had these manager stats:
And the final league table looked like this:
I lost 5 games whilst in charge here (1 of which was in an FA Trophy match). In the games that I lost I got totally, well and truely battered. The rest of the results however were great which leads me to believe that my scout report may have been off and lead me to choose the wrong tactic going into the game.
I never used the 3-1-4-2 as there was never a side that I was convinced I could destroy in the season. I used the 4-4-2 attacking on most of my home games, switching to the defensive version if I went more than 2 goals clear of my opponents to try and guarantee not losing. The only time I changes this was against the top 5 teams where I played the 4-1-4-1 attacking, just to give my team more cover at the back.
I generally started with the 4-1-4-1 attacking away from home no matter who I played, and if I went a goal up I switched to the defensive version of it to play counter attack.
Seems to be working ok in the lower leagues, I'd love to hear some feedback from anyone else who has tried these to see if they're performing for other people as well.
Linear Mode
