T-Rex

Hi and merry christmas to all of you!

I have been following a lot of the threads on here, and there is very many good points around on the forum. And there are some really good tactics out there as well. I still sit here though, with some doubts now, when I feel the time has come to set up my own tactic, to fit my team.

Striking force: I have three strikers that I would love to see working together. Two of them are really quick, with good finishing and off the ball, and the third one is high and strong with good jumping and heading. I have had much success with this man as the Target Man with the Minimal Fuss tactic, flanked by one of the two fast strikers I have. I would, however love to see them all three in action at the same time. I am picturing the crosses played to Target Man who have double options for flicking the ball on to two strikers running at full speed past the defenders.

Apart from the obvious, putting the tall man in the centre of the three, and aiming crosses for his head, and yes, drawing him into the Target Man box, how should I set up this striker trio? Should the Target Man have the most attacking mentality? One of the two quick ones are quite good with the ball (technique/dribbling) so I guess he could run with ball a lot.

Any ideas on how the settings for these guys should be?

Within the rest of my squad I have quite high passing and off the ball attributes on most of my players, as well as they are a bunch of quick players. Midfield has high creativity as well.

How do I utilize these good passing skills at the same time as I can draw advantage of my towering Target Man?

I would prefer having a 4-backline. And taken that I already have given away 3 spots amongst my strikers, that leaves 3 slots for midfielders. How would these be wisely placed, considering my desire to use the aerial skills of my target man?

Does the fact that my players are quick make it more suitable for me to play a counter attacking style of play? I have just got promoted, so I guess most teams will play offensively against me in the start of this upcoming season.

So that’s about it. Any thoughts?

Benoit2

Try to give the target man rarely forward runs and a lower mentality then your other strikers. Hopefully he'll tempt a centre-back to step forward to challenge him in the air, creating space for you other striker to run into.

bflaff

I'd be a little worried that 3 in the middle was too few, but since this worry has made me avoid trying it, I can't say if it genuinely is a bad idea or not.

I had the same issue as you -- my best players were strikers and I wanted to get them on the field together. I play three DCs, 2 wingbacks on long farrows, 2 MCs, and the three strikers. The WBs are versatile, because you can scale them back as you get more defensive, and if you cancel their farrows and force them to sit back, they can counter a 4-2-4 or long farrowed wingers pretty well.

My players are far and away better than most of the competition, so their talent may be covering up tactical errors, but in the short time I've been using this set-up, I've gotten the results I was after. I kept all three strikers on the same (attacking - 13?) mentality, with high CF (13?) as well. I had the same kind of big target man type in the middle as you, and when I had him on a higher mentality he sometimes got a little ahead of the pack. So I think I like them better on the same mentality. I also side arrow the left and right strikers, to get into space as well as unclog the middle for my big guy. If your speedy types can cross, so much the better. Tbh, I'm not sure if side arrows is actually a good idea, but it intuitively sounded good, and my goal scoring increased, so they stayed.

I play with mentality, passing, and tempo all slightly above normal (12 ish) with a wider set-up at home, if that info is needed. Again, not even sure if that's the ideal set-up, but I haven't had a lot of time to mess around with alternatives, and why mess with success?

T-Rex

Thank You. Will try out these tips here, and then report back on the findings. Lewes (originally Conference South in Premiership...) will have a blast! Haha!

davidbowie

You could setup 2 of the strikers (pref the fastest), on the AM wing positions and have a Sideways farrow into the penalty area.

T-Rex

I have now finished my preseason matches, and things are looking promising.

I have decided to go for the 3 CDs + wingbacks defence that bflaff (thank you) suggested, instead of the original idea of having a flat 4man backline. This leaving two spots for central midfielders on the pitch supporting my 3 strikers.

The results so far have been good, although only preseason and we all know that things change when business starts for real.

My pre season results:
Exeter - Lewes 0-2
Brighton - Lewes 1-2
Lewes - Paris-SG 3-0
Lewes - Tottenham Rsv 2-1
Lewes - Lens 1-0 (got one man sent off)
Lewes - Lewes Rsv 5-1

As you can see, results are all positive, but I wouldnt put too much into them because of the opposition quality has been really varying. I must say however, that both Paris and Lens fielded first team squads!

I'll report back with more later