4-1-3-2 Revisited: Possession football, fancy knockdowns and scoring midfield man

boybenjy · 03-02-2007, 10:59 AM

Disclaimer

If you are looking for a tactic to plug into your game, this is probably not it. There are some tweaking to be done with regard to your team. As always, I appreciate any feedback. Thank you.

The Beginning

I downloaded wwfan's tactic sets (Rule of One or Two) and have examined them to some detail before embarking on creating a narrow 4-1-3-2 formation which I found to like. I am always interested in having play down the middle instead of the flanks and I have been trying without success to create an effective one which is not only consistent but effective in maintaining possession as well.

Logic behind the formation

The shape of this tactic might seem familiar to those who played the older championship manager series as it has proven to be very effective in those older versions. It follows a normal back four, protected by a high closing down defensive midfielder. There are no playmakers and the 3 man midfield works hard in getting possession, keeping it and creating plays around the box. The two strikers, one a strong targetman, good with headers, knocking the ball down to the faster striker.

Requirements

There is need for a typical strong targetman on the left with good heading. The left striker and center midfield man needs to be fast and have decent finishing. The basic requirements for the midfield, including the defensive midfielder is high teamwork and workrate as I highly emphasize it in my team.

The centerbacks and fullbacks have normal defensive requirements. Good heading, tackling and marking attributes and more pace for the fullbacks.

Notes

It's a very simple logic, one that can be easily visualized. At home, with possession of the ball, the midfield passes the ball around with the fullbacks in support. The centrebacks and defensive midfielder stay back in case possession is lost. The two strikers hover around the opposition's defensive line waiting for an opportunity to break.

Away from home, the team plays with a defensive shape, keeping a low defensive line and always on the lookout for a counter attack. The midfield works hard to get the ball in midfield with the defensive midfielder getting to balls played into the box.

The individual instructions are not changed whatsoever unless in certain games where I see the gameplay can be improved. I encourage all to do the same. If you are playing in key highlights and do not seem to know why you are not doing as well, switch to extended highlights for a bit and you will most probably see why. Dragging your players out of positions is a common reason. It is the team instructions which get tinkered around the most for me, especially the mentalities and defensive line.

Things to look out for

The two strikers and the center man of the 3 man midfield work together in tandem. You should see this in your highlights. The ball being played to the targetman, knocking the ball down to the fast striker who either takes a shot or plays a through ball to the running center midfield.

Another thing to note is when playing against an attacking 4-4-2 when their wingers run all the way. I try to counter this by going to opposition instructions and making sure that the 2 wingers are marked tightly. This has proven to be pretty effective where my midfield drifts slightly to stay closely to the two wingers. Thus ensuring the fullbacks do not stray from their positions.

Tactic download

I have just changed to a Mac, so I am not sure of how to take screenshots, so they are currently not available.

As for the tactic download, they are avaiable on fmdownloads and is called fi5hy4132set.zip.