Almost every team I play uses a 3-4-3 or 3-5-2

It's getting kinda weird to see 3 at the back nearly every time I play. Especially as some of these teams have world class full backs that aren't getting used. I'm wondering if they're just trying to counter my tactics, but if that's the case, it's not working, as I'm 2nd in the league and on a 12 match winning streak.

Anyone else noticed this develop as a trend in the game(I'm in 2032), people using 3 at the back? Or is everyone's AI opponents still using the same old tactics they do at the start of the game?

In which league are you playing? It might be some kind of tradition where you are managing maybe...

Another thing I could imagine is that the preferred formation for regen managers (including current players) has a bit too much randomness in it :confused:

I'm playing in the Premiership.

I noted this for virtually every game in Germany.

Very strange for the Prem, it could be that the preferred tactics of managers/clubs have been corrupted.

They need to improve regen managers for FM 2011 and change their preferred formation to reflect the actual trend in football.Get rid of the stupid 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 wich is hardly used nowdays and make them use 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 much more.

I always use a 3 - 5 -2 formation or a 3 - 4 -1 - 2. Later on in the years AI uses this formation too!

In Brazil almost all managers use 4-2-2-2... I think the only time I played against a Brazilian team which wasn't using a 4-2-2-2 was against Sao Paulo in FM09, with Simeone managing them (4-2-3-1)

Is that unrealistic then llDracoll?

What's the most common formation in Brazil in real life?

to be fair I think that's pretty realistic, since 4-2-2-2 is to Brazil what 4-4-2 was to England 10 years ago...

4-2-2-2 is to Brazil what 4-4-2 was to England 10 years ago...

...and what 4-4-2 is to England now...

They need to improve regen managers for FM 2011 and change their preferred formation to reflect the actual trend in football.Get rid of the stupid 3-4-3 or 3-5-2 wich is hardly used nowdays and make them use 4-3-3 and 4-2-3-1 much more.

But if the regen managers are using 3-4-3 and 3-5-2 formations, then it must be the future...so how is that not modern? It's evolution

I'm playing in Italy where there's all kind of formations at the start but 10 years in most teams play 4-4-2.

I'm playing in England myself, currently in 2014 and a lot of the times the AI uses 3-5-2 or 3-4-3 against me, too.

I only play in English lower leagues and rarely (if ever) see 3 at the back formations.

It could be of course that there's just a plethora of manager's currently managing in that league who play that formation as it's their favourite.

What I'd love to see, as is hinted at above, and may be difficult to implement, is a gradual evolution of tactics over time within the game. So for example, if you get a lot of success playing a formation hardly anyone uses in your league...people copy you and it starts to negate the effect. This would of course take place over a few seasons and not just one to the next.

Maybe it's just an effective formation against yours? I've changed mine to deal with players from the other team many times before, they could just be doing the same.

Check and see if they use that formation every game. If they do...I don't know what to say haha

Maybe it's just an effective formation against yours? I've changed mine to deal with players from the other team many times before, they could just be doing the same.

Check and see if they use that formation every game. If they do...I don't know what to say haha

That's the thing. It's not effective. The only teams who've beaten me this season with that formation are ones who have players as good as mine if not better. Other teams tend to play that formation, then I'll bang a goal or two past them, and they'll end up switching to a 442 by the end of the game.