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Newc: Pretty well working 4-4-2 tactics for Newcastle now available
After having very inconsistent results with Newcastle for four and half seasons with my "common sense" tactics, designed originally for FM 2006, I tried the first version El Padre's RoT-solid and things went from bad (relatively) to worse. Then I decided to incorporate some of the RoT-ideas for mentality and how to break AI's ultra-defensive tactics to my own, started a new season, and voila, finally I had a set of tactics that gave me much needed consistency. Finished the first season 4th despite a massive injury crisis in mid-season. There was only one game where my team really underperformed (Tottenham away), and that may be down to badly chosen teamtalks.
Included are four variations: normal, attacking, defensive and ultra-defensive. Normal is the one you want to use at home, and attacking once the opposition goes to ultra-defensive mode. Defensive variant is counter-attacking for away games or defending a lead, ultra-defensive goes a notch further, and can be effective even at home against the top clubs. In short, you use these four depending on your opposition and the in-game situation.
While there are no team instructions to use target man, these tactics heavily utilizes the use of one, who in Newcastle during the first season are Sibierski and Ameobi (in that order). I got some incredible stats for Sibierski with these, 40 goals in 51 games, including 7 goals in one game against ten man Portuguese side (forgot the name) in the Uefa cup.
Your best starting eleven for the first season with these tactics is
GK Given
DR Carr
DL Babayaro
DC Bramble (will cot you games though)
DC Taylor
AMR Solano
AML Duff
Ma Emre
Md Parker
TM Sibierski (right sided)
ST Martins
[You may want to sell Dyer to get some cash, but don't spend it right away because the club is debt-ridden. I'd recommend signing of DC Kirilov (free agent) and playing him instead of Bramble. I bet you will have injury crisis at some point, and need to use even your junior players at the starting line-up, but with these tactics it wasn't a catastrophe for me (one of the games of the season was beating Arsenal at home 3-2 with 17-year old Dean Kritchlov netting a 30 yard screamer when playing in Md-position).]
Anyhow, if anyone is interested in using these, and adapt them even for a different team, I'd like to hear how the tactics work for you.
Got kicked out of the Uefa-cup in the second knock-out round against Tottenham with a last minute away goal thanks to the error of Titus Bramble (who was then transfer-listed and moved to the reserves). No success in other cups either.
11-06-2006, 12:14 PM
Newc: Pretty well working 4-4-2 tactics for Newcastle now available Post #4
Would have posted stats for all the players, but I don't know how to set a html-file for all to see here (2nd season is half away, so not a neat screenshot available anymore).
11-07-2006, 03:25 PM
Newc: Pretty well working 4-4-2 tactics for Newcastle now available Post #5
For the 2nd season I made some minor adjustments to set-pieces and passing style of the Md. Some players were bought in with the champions league money, and some promising players signed for free (loaned out mostly).
The league went very until the last six games, when I didn't win a game, and suffered 3 defeats. I wonder if my extraordinaire run in the Champions League had something to do with it, since my team was performing above all expectations, kicking Real Madrid, Inter Milan and Werder Bremen out of the competition during the playoffs, and was about to meet Manchester United in the big final.
However morale of the team was suffering from the bad league games, and there was a message from the fans that I should use some other tactic to get back into form. I was so sure that this bad form would continue in the final that I decided to use a variation of the good old catenaccio-tactic I had used successfully in FM 2005.
This variation was 4-3-3, deep defensive line, very narrow and quick tempo counterattack, man marking for the back four, three (defensive) midfielders pressing the ball and three forwards waiting for the long ball and performing as a separate attacking unit.
Basically this tactic crowds out the best scoring positions with your defenders and DMCs, and you have just to hope that your goalkeeper has a good game since the initiative is solely given to the opposition and many long shots will come in. Also you just have to hope that your forwards will perform a quality counterattacking move or two.
That's just what happened in the final. Shay Given was the man of the match, and Martins scored with my team's only shot on goal. w00t!!! The champ is here!
11-07-2006, 03:28 PM
Newc: Pretty well working 4-4-2 tactics for Newcastle now available Post #6
Newc: Pretty well working 4-4-2 tactics for Newcastle now available 
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