I have finally mastered FM08 8.02 patch

Hi All

I am pleased to say that I have finally managed to master FM08 patch 8.02.

I have played the game since it was released with 8.0 and 8.1 but never managed to have any success.

Thanks to Cleon and his guidance/help I managed to transform one of his tactic into my own.

Little background, I always play with Liverpool and have without fail been sacked after the second season and never managed to win anything!!! I started a new game using 8.02 patch and refined Cleon's tactic to suit my players and in the second season I managed to run away with the premier league, won the league cup, lost in the FA cup final to ManuU and won the champions league.

I generally never change the shape of the team, but play around with the team sliders depending on the opposition

- Against team where i am favoured/heavily favoured I always play high tempo, attacking, mixed passing, defence pushing up, low creativity

- Against team that are even with me I always lower the mentality to just above the normal setting, lower passing to short, temp to slow

- Against team i have no hope against, i play defensive, deep defence, low creativity, very short passing and slow tempo, sometimes counter attacking

I always ask my assistant to do pre-match team talks, I always do half-time and full-time.

I know some of you will say my tactic is a cheat tactic, but i dont really care as it works for me. How i managed this tactic? in season 1 I was playing against Barcelona in the Q/F of the champions league and they hammered me 3-0 at the Nou Camp, for the return league I had no hope with them winning 1-0 at half time and messi playing around with my defence. I decided to drop Torres to centre midfield with forward arrow all the way to striker position, second half i scored 6 goals to win it 6-4 on aggregate!!! Bingo, there it was, my new tactic

Anyway, here is the link for the tactic. I realise it wont work for everyone and probably wont work for lower league team, but good luck to everyone

http://rapidshare.com/files/94775769/4-4-2_Attacking-Li...__Apr_2009_.tac.html

Glad to see you having success

Thanks Cleon

Took me a lot of time and fiddling around with the sliders to figure things out (although sometimes i still managed to get outplayed by some teams, especially Arsenal)

Forgot to mention i also signed over two seasons Briand, Gioda, Gourcuff, Van Den Borre, Fernandez, Stancu (trained him as AT MID/R), marchisio!!! I sold Hypiia, Kewel, Finnan, Kuyt but cannot get rid of Voronin, Pennant, and the Israeli player (just cannot think of his name at the moment).

The tactic is not built on posession football but constant attacking pressure. The goals are strangely shared amongst the whole team, the attackers dont score as much as they assist. Majority of the goals are coming from the attacking midfielders, long shots from Gerrard/Alonso/Marchisio/Fernandez and headers from Agger/Caragher!!! I think Torress scored 12 goals and Briand 8 goals in the league but both their rating were above 7.0 average.

Defence was very good, most goals conceded from corners or long shots.

Make sure you do the usual regarding chaning CB marking to man mark and zonal respectively when playing against 1 striker!!!!

I also refered to the same key attributes as instructed by many other on here i.e.

- CB to have above 15 heading, tackling, jumping and above 10 pace

- Wingers to have good pace, finishing, decision, composure, crossing

- midfield must have good decisions, long shots, composure, passing, work rate

- wing back i find not so important, but i look for pace, crossing, tackling, work rate

- Striker shooting, heading, long shots, pace

THIS TACTIC MUST BE TO GOOD TO BE TRUE ??

I WAS 4-0 UP WIV MAN CITY AT HOME AGAINST CHELSEA

I started my first game with FM08 only last week, using 8.0.2 and using the great advice of people on this board have only lost three matches in the first two seasons! Admittedly I'm Arsenal, but it still seems easier than previous versions - or is it just that this board is particularly helpful at the moment?

I don't really like lower league football, but I'm definitely looking for a crapper team to take on now (don't want to start a new game, just find a new challenge in this save).

Anyway, thanks to all.

Make sure you do the usual regarding chaning CB marking to man mark and zonal respectively when playing against 1 striker!!!!

Hi sorry wot do u mean by this ??

sounds good going to give this a blast on my mates network game

Any advice is good, thanks. It seems to me with 8.02 patch there has to be more involvement with tatics are you won't do very well in the game.

Eh i would't call this tac a 4-4-2

I mean there is no strikers??

Originally posted by tills2k1:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Make sure you do the usual regarding chaning CB marking to man mark and zonal respectively when playing against 1 striker!!!!

Hi sorry wot do u mean by this ?? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Sorry I was a little too vague there

I always play both my CB as "Man Markers" and teh defensive midfield as zonal to mop up. But when playing against formations that use only 1 striker upfront, I usually change one of the CB's to zonal marking and instruct the other to man mark that specific striker.

I still believe that i havnt fully mastered this tactic and dont quiet understand the full use of the sliders!!!

Also note when you are playing a week team and just cant seem to score, try slowing the tempo down, play short passing to keep position of the ball. Generally teams that are worse than you will try to play deep position football to starve you of the ball.

Also make sure you have two good striker, I GENERALLY change my striker in the 60-65 minutes mark because he does get very tired (unless he is doing very well)

that was supposed to be "Weak" team

Originally posted by Fred:

Eh i would't call this tac a 4-4-2

I mean there is no strikers??

You are correct, its not a 4-4-2 tactic.

The reason it has that name was because I started with the generic 4-4-2 tactic provided by the game and just kept changing it around over time.

I am sure many people will call this a cheat tactic because there is no striker etc..... but if you notice there is actually a striker, only difference is the whole team defends beyond the half way mark!!

Also note in the last 10 minutes when playing against 4-2-4 formation, try slowing down the temp and play short passing. Also extend the backward arrow on the WB R/L all the way to the end and drop the AT MID R/L to the midfield R/L position with forward arrows to the AT MID positions.

I would actually appreciate any advice from people who are trying this tactic, things I could do to improve this tactic!!

could you post it in savefile or other download sites as i seem to have problems with rapidshare. thks

Originally posted by AlAdDiN:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Fred:

Eh i would't call this tac a 4-4-2

I mean there is no strikers??

You are correct, its not a 4-4-2 tactic.

The reason it has that name was because I started with the generic 4-4-2 tactic provided by the game and just kept changing it around over time.

I am sure many people will call this a cheat tactic because there is no striker etc..... but if you notice there is actually a striker, only difference is the whole team defends beyond the half way mark!! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

What is cheating about it? You just used the legal options available to you to create a tactic with the game without editing.

Originally posted by raymysterio:

could you post it in savefile or other download sites as i seem to have problems with rapidshare. thks

I sent it to your hotmail account

Originally posted by Pim1984:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by AlAdDiN:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by Fred:

Eh i would't call this tac a 4-4-2

I mean there is no strikers??

You are correct, its not a 4-4-2 tactic.

The reason it has that name was because I started with the generic 4-4-2 tactic provided by the game and just kept changing it around over time.

I am sure many people will call this a cheat tactic because there is no striker etc..... but if you notice there is actually a striker, only difference is the whole team defends beyond the half way mark!! </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

What is cheating about it? You just used the legal options available to you to create a tactic with the game without editing. </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Lots of people on this forum tend to refer to unconventional tactics as cheat tactics.

I really like this tactic because when watching the match on extended highlights I can really see my team defending as one unit and attacking as one unit

any other link than rapidshare..thanks

Has anybody tried it with weaker teams?

try this site

http://www.turboupload.com/download/tHJcuXxq0aEe/4-4-2A...iverpoolApr2009).tac

I dont see why this tactic shouldnt work for weaker teams.

You will need to play with very low creative freedom, short passing, slow tempo, narrow and perhaps even counter-attack

And their was I, just about to ask if it was possible to play with no strikers!!

Looking good so far. I'm experimenting with the middle cm as an AMC with a farrow

I tried placing the middle CM in the middle attacking midfield position with forward arrow, but it just didnt work for me.

I found with having 3 central midfielders i was controlling the midfield when attacking and closing down spaces when defending.

When i placed torres in the attacking midfield position, there was a gap in midfield when defending and I found that Torres just wasnt tracking back

Somehow i think the best way to succeed in this game is to create/leave wide open spaces in the attacking half and restrict spaces in the defensive half.

Has anyone tried this tactic extensively yet? would love to have some feedback.

I still havnt started the new season with Liverpool to see if this tactic is still as good after winning the treble

Would be great to get some screens from this as I'm at work and for some reason we're not allowed to use FM while working...

Formation (better quality)

Are you one who advocates OI's?

I dont understand what you mean?

OI? Is that opposition instructions?

Sorry, yes it is

thanks

i dont advocate OI's

these instructions are my own and based on the match odds provided by the scouts and the quality of the opposition.

i generally also always toggle between those settings in one match

where do u place ur strikers?

can u send it to tsguy@rocketmail.com?

the download sites cant get through

Originally posted by pokka:

where do u place ur strikers?

can u send it to tsguy@rocketmail.com?

the download sites cant get through

Not sure if you can see his screenshots but he plays a FC in the central midfield position and both wingers are also FCs.

Originally posted by pokka:

where do u place ur strikers?

can u send it to tsguy@rocketmail.com?

the download sites cant get through

tactic sent

my Striker plays as a central midfielder with a forward arrow to the striker position.

I find this opens up lots of space in the attacking half but also ensures minimal space in the defensive half.

Originally posted by AlAdDiN:

I always play with Liverpool and have without fail been sacked after the second season and never managed to win anything!!! I started a new game using 8.02 patch and refined Cleon's tactic to suit my players

Hi,

I can totally agree with this, I used Cleon's tactic from the sheff utd game project and started new game with Liverpool. I can also confirm I won the premiership in first season by 2 points, early domestic cup exits and champions league semi final. I'm into second season and not doing brilliant 4th after 12 games but it's certainly a very good start in terms of tactics for FM08.02

I used this tactic wiv man city finished 3rd in 1st season seems top class at home but suspect away i lost all my games awy from home if i picked up 7 more points on the road would have won the league any advice?

Originally posted by tills2k1:

I used this tactic wiv man city finished 3rd in 1st season seems top class at home but suspect away i lost all my games awy from home if i picked up 7 more points on the road would have won the league any advice?

When playing away you need to change the tactic to be less attacking (see my comments in the first post) i.e. reduce mentality, defensive line, tempo, passing must be short and even sometimes tick counter attack.

I didnt have to do this often with Liverpool because they are better than many sides and I could afford to play attacking away from home.

I suspect with Man City you will need to change things away from home until you assemble a world class side and your team reputation increases

good luck

Originally posted by tills2k1:

I used this tactic wiv man city finished 3rd in 1st season seems top class at home but suspect away i lost all my games awy from home if i picked up 7 more points on the road would have won the league any advice?

Just reading your post again, I think you did very well to finish 7 points off the pace in the first season!!! Did you use this tactic all season? in the pre-season? or did you pick it up half way?

I have finally had some time to begin my second season after winning the treble. Only played one pre-season game though against Metz and won 5-0.

Spent lots of time organising my squad and going through pre-season, some updates

- Sold Alonso to Real Madrid for $35mil Euro (too good to refuse)

- Sold Torres to Arsenal for $35mil Euro (again too good to refuse)

- Sold Pennant for free to sunderland

- Signed Aguerro from Atletico for $40mil Euro

- Signed Dos Santos from Barcelona on a free (I couldnt believe it!!! and offered him $96,000 per week)

- Signed Sakho from PSG for $10mil Euro

Hopefully tonight i will get to start playing a little bit more of season 2

Originally posted by AlAdDiN:

<BLOCKQUOTE class="ip-ubbcode-quote"><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-title">quote:</div><div class="ip-ubbcode-quote-content">Originally posted by tills2k1:

I used this tactic wiv man city finished 3rd in 1st season seems top class at home but suspect away i lost all my games awy from home if i picked up 7 more points on the road would have won the league any advice?

Just reading your post again, I think you did very well to finish 7 points off the pace in the first season!!! Did you use this tactic all season? in the pre-season? or did you pick it up half way? </div></BLOCKQUOTE>

Picked this up on cleons play my gam project and jus used ure tactic from the start was class at home but found it hard against the big four and some away games, yer i agree 3rd wiv man city is good but i was top unitl the last 10 games i was gutted but top tactic ne ways

this tactic is amazing!using it with galatasaray i made a few changes to it im on a 18 game unbeaten run in all competitions only conceded 6 goals in them 18 games and scored 31

did some more testing with this tactic and found the following

- it does not work if you raise the closing down of your CB's to middle (as some people were suggesting in other posts), must leave closing down very little

- It does not work very well if you select short passing, slow tempo, attacking mentality. Must play attacking mentality, mixed passing and quick tempo.

- When playing against better sides, start off with normal mentality, short passing, slow tempo and if you are being completely dominated, then play quick tempo with direct passing

this is exactly the way i play mate. i managed to go 60 games unbeaten in the league once.

This is a very interesting tactic, A little strange though. Out of curiosity why did you choose to have your AML/R running to the striker position and not the reverse of this ( FC -> AML/R)? what would happen if you reversed this?

Started a new game with Doncaster Rovers using this tactic and i have to say its very impressive so far. I'm unbeaten in the league after seven games (W5, D2). I also knocked West Brom out of the league cup away from home.

I made 3 different versions of the tactic, one for away games when the team i'm playing is pretty much the same as me and one for away games when i'm heavily favoured to lose and so far it has been brilliant

When I 1st started playing 08 i had some problems due to the speed of the game being so slow and players in the 2d engine all seeming to want to hold onto the ball and look for players unmarked or players moving into space. I downloaded a couple of tactics but none of them seemed to wrk for me, so I decided to take them apart and modify them to suit my own needs. It wasnt long before I had a number of tactics sussed to suit my team and was winning and drawing games where as befor i was gettin hammered.

The great thing about this game is i believe, the match engine has evolved in such away that super tactics dont allways wrk anymore, which means that you have to wrk harder at gaining success in the game, and that ultimately means getting more involved. I was a little let down by previous vers. of FM as there didnt seem to be that much improvement in the most important area of the game, matchday. I think SI have hit the nail on the head this time round

Originally posted by lynxeffect:

This is a very interesting tactic, A little strange though. Out of curiosity why did you choose to have your AML/R running to the striker position and not the reverse of this ( FC -> AML/R)? what would happen if you reversed this?

I havnt tried placing two CF with backward arrows, but i dont think it would work anyway.

I believe (have found), the game is all about making space in the final third of the pitch and this allows my AM R/L and CF to run into an abundance of space.

Just wondering if there is any new feedback on this tactic?

I have been trying different things such as

- changed passing to short and tempo to slow (on attacking mentality) it worked for a couple of games but then i just couldnt buy a win

- Also tried a little defensive attitude with direct passing and quick tempo but that did not work at all for me

So far i would have to say that playing attacking mentality with mixed passing, quick tempo works best in this tactic. If you areplaying better teams try normal/defensive mentality with short passing and slow tempo

Another point

Dos Santos from Barcelona is absolute gold in this game, placed him in the ATM R position and he cannot stop scoring!!! An absolute bargain, signed for free and on $96,000 euro per week.

Also Aguero took about 3-4 games to settle (was getting consistent 6's) but then just exploded and was scoring average 1-2 goals per game (until he got injured and is out for 4 months)