If you register for free, you will be able to post threads, vote on polls and lots more. If you have problems with the registration or logging in, please contact the administrator.
FM2007: My tactical approach, our evening together, and my first impressions…
The only major change that struck me was the opposing instructions interface. Akin to an extension of the pre-match team-talk, it enables the user to highlight opposing individual threats, and endeavour to nullify them. There’s the option to close down and/or tight mark; with the new rather brutal and cynical tackling choices. All these options are already available, but these new functions enable you to target individual players without having to constantly tweak and change man-marking instructions. Clearly intended to work in conjunction with opponent scout reports, I found that it was possible to kick players out of games a la Neville and Reyes. Not very aesthetically pleasing, but a useful new option for the Allardyce in us.
The much misunderstood sliders are all there in their old form. I used my old approach. Quick, short but with plenty of flair and spontaneity, pushing forward at every opportunity. It didn’t work. My moves were running away with themselves; snatching at chances, and being exposed on the counter. Suddenly all those supposed flaws in some slider extremes were all-too apparent. Quick tempo and my players were edgy and profligate. Too much creative freedom and they were hitting thirty yarders, despite their individual instructions to the contrary. My high defensive line was being caught time and time again. The strategy I’d used last year was flagging.
The sliders were working!
No more ambiguity with creative freedom. You give half the side lots, and they become a disparate mess, just like the manual claimed they always would. Give lots to a potential match-winner with the right attributes, and they can change a game in your favour. Time wasting makes your players seek the corner flag this time, not just when combined with ultra-defensive mentality. Mentality itself is even more profound than before; as is your defensive line respectively.
In short, it seems that SI have amplified the sliders, and that their effects are more obvious and apparent than before. My annual inaugural Arsenal game was peppered with wasteful piledrivers from distance, and a painfully exposed defensive line. Cutting the creative freedom down to a couple of players, lowering team mentality and defensive line was the obvious solution- and I could see the results straight away. I lowered my tempo and my team were more methodical and patient- this was apparent not only in the match stats but also from key highlights. No more fruitless pondering of various factors for a remedy. The sliders really do what they are supposed to, and in a more drastic manner than ever before.
This also works the other way however: the wrong goalkeeper instructions can lead to even more cataclysmic errors than before! High mentality and/or creative freedom will see your shot-stopper charging out in a Barthez-esque fashion at every opportunity- a conservative approach is definitely recommended.
So, my first impressions after my first evening with FM2007 were intriguing. Very few new innovations here, but the existing features have been altered for the better. They work in a much more pronounced manner than before. Hopefully this will lead to a new influx of players more willing to embrace the tactical side of this game; now that it isn’t as unintuitive and ambiguous as it was before.
One of the things with closing down which I would like to add is the fact that if you have your defenders on low closing down, surely that's allowing them more to take up good positioning as they are not diving into the opponent?
If they're on a high closing down, I would have thought that they were not concentrating on positioning as much as they were too busy trying to shut down their opponent
That was the reason I always used to set closing down to five or six. However, as wwfan has mentioned already, high closing down for defenders is good against a defensive team or lone striker to maintain the pressure.
Originally posted by Asmodeus:
That was the reason I always used to set closing down to five or six. However, as wwfan has mentioned already, high closing down for defenders is good against a defensive team or lone striker to maintain the pressure.
Originally posted by rashidi1: How I Build a Solid Defence
There are some things I take as a given, one if I make any ingame tweaks I need to check my "defend free-kick settings" as they change sometimes in the game. In my defending free kick set up I had 2 players on the post, when I noticed there was only one, I quickly went in to change but it was too late. The best way around this is to ensure that when you save the tactic you reload before you click continue.
Closing Ranks
Setting up a solid defense is not unlike playing actual footy. You want to make sure that when you close down the hard work is done primarily by the mids and forwards. Average sides normally upset the tempo of really good teams by giving them little or no time on the ball and this usually starts from the front. In modern day football, the first line of defence starts from the front.
Whether they have high or low closing down, Central Defenders will close down opposing players when they enter their zone. The key is to ensure they either support the midfielder who is closing down first or to cut off passes. To do this employ a staggered closing down strategy. As if there aren't already enough numbers in this game to turn your head around, I'm tossing in some more
The closing down of the lowest placed defender and the highest placed midfielder should not be more than 10.
I set up like this:
DR/DL 5
DC 5
DC 1
DMC 9
MR/ML 11
AMC and FCs: Max
I'm not too fussed about the strikeforce as I want them to harry the defense, their closing down is set to everywhere. But they still make themselves available, because once a player leaves their zone, he is picked up by another player. The goal is to make sure the overall shape of the formation is not compromised.
Setting Mentality Up
Do you need to set up a global mentality for the whole team? No. What you need to do is to make sure that the gap between the lowest placed defender and the highest placed Midfielder is not more than 10. This way your midfield and defense should play together.
Tackling
I set up my tackling on normal for almost the whole team now. I will try to move a couple of them on easy. Cos I think the level of tackling may have an impact on the game. My only concern is that tackling does contribute to injuries and cards as well.
Tight Marking
I put tight marking on for MR/ML and both DCs, so far it seems to work when it comes to interceptions.
Set Piece
I see a lot of tactics uploaded where not a lot of thought goes into making a good set piece. And I think this is one area where you will get punished in the game if your attention to detail is lacking. A good routine should allow you to counterattack from defending a routine, and should allow you defend while you attack someone else. You will concede an awful lot of silly goals in a game if you ignore this.
Defending Set Pieces I completely disagree with how SI has set up the routines as they do not mirror anything IRL. In fact I thinks its compromise. They have set up the routines in the most defensive way possible but you will struggle. When defending a set piece, make sure that
A) you can counterattack easily. To do this choose a ML/MR with good decisions and a forward with great OTB nd pace and stick em forward.
B) Have the right people for the right job.
Make sure that your best jumpers mark the tall players. If you are defending a corner, have the fullbacks (ONLY) marking the near and far post. If its a freekick...have about 3 in the wall and the rest manmark. I usually have 3-4 in wall.
Attacking setpieces
You need to score goals or hit the target, if you aren't the wrong people are set up in the wrong places. Make sure when using an attacking setpiece, especially corners that you have a few players lurking around the box. This will allow you to hold possession when you lose the ball. Just have your best header attack far and near post. And your fullbacks on stay back duty.
Great post mate. I am now gonna try these out in my Portsmouth game and see if i can build up a tactic worthy for this team. I am thinking of a 442 for Portsmouth, as they dont have that great a team and noit many players with good pace, so i might have to buy a few players in, but not too many in just now.
Originally posted by Asmodeus:
That was the reason I always used to set closing down to five or six. However, as wwfan has mentioned already, high closing down for defenders is good against a defensive team or lone striker to maintain the pressure.
I remember a span of time when all I did was keep playing the demo over and over again, just to check on the closing down of defenders. I have used high closing down for defenders and low closing down just to see the difference. Honestly because the defenders are the last line of defence they will close down anyway, whether they are on high or low. The difference i see is when the box is packed. When the box is packed there is a higher chance that the CB gets pulled out to follow someone and sometimes you see him tracking across the face of the goal. Which is why I think the ideal set up is to have them on low closing down and tight marking. It seems to work really well.
There are times when they get caught out by a quick turn, but honestly, that should happen in real life. I would expect players like Bramble to get themselves turned inside out by the Rooneys. But if you give them low closing down, they will go in on the player they are tight marking, but they will not track him across the face of the goal because they are tight marking their zone and not the player.
If you want to play high closing down for defenders its risky and not advisable for centrebacks. If you look at actual football games, you will see centrebacks marking their zone tightly. But the moment the player leaves their zone, someone else picks them up. The only players who close down early are the DMCs and the strikers.
Every formation we design requres planning. There are different requirements for 343 and 442 and 4132 formations. Different players have different roles. I think if we try and translate them into the game they could work.
Once I'm done with the diamond I'm going to work on other formations and then test them all out with lower league sides. And I strongly believe the impact of player attributes/sliders is going to be even more dramatic, when they play a good side.
One other thing, I have been playing the same formation for the last 13 games in the premiership and we have a goal scoring ratio of 3 vs 0.5 conceded per game. I'm happy that I don't need to change formations, and this gives me a lot of joy. Do you hear me Buxton!!!
Frankie let me now how you get on with it Im at work until 5, then i get home and play footy, so i wont be able to mess around with the diamond until later tonight
To be honest i think i have the theory of tactics nailed down but it just seems i have to find a style/set of instructions that doesnt lead to my players making costly errors.
Im at work until 5, then i get home and play footy, so i wont be able to mess around with the diamond until later tonight 
Linear Mode
