Tactical Central & Insight_FM11...

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Wow, an excellent post there. Very informative and helpful, i'm looking forward to upcoming posts.

I hope reading this helps me out with my Blackpool save, can't do any harm right?

Thanks for that

brillaint stuff as usual. many thanks.

I just wanted to say that I have now included the 4-4-2, the NonWinger (4-1-3-2 & 4-3-1-2), the 4-4-1-1 & 4-2-3-1, and the 4-1-4-1 & 4-3-3 sets for download (the link is at the bottem of every formation explanation). The 3AtTheBack tactics are still in early days so I haven't entirely concluded them yet and the Alternative Pack is missing a few tactics (which are not really tested yet), so I will have to wait a little with these. I think that I should be done by next weekend, and in the mean time I will be adding on to the thread. At one point I will include an Index in the Preview in the opening post so that Users can quickly zoom into the areas they feel they need to focus on (more user-friendly ). Please feel free to ask any questions if you have doubts about things written in the thread or other general tactical questions. Enjoy...

I just wanted to say that I have now included the 4-4-2, the NonWinger (4-1-3-2 & 4-3-1-2), the 4-4-1-1 & 4-2-3-1, and the 4-1-4-1 & 4-3-3 sets for download (the link is at the bottem of every formation explanation). The 3AtTheBack tactics are still in early days so I haven't entirely concluded them yet and the Alternative Pack is missing a few tactics (which are not really tested yet), so I will have to wait a little with these. I think that I should be done by next weekend, and in the mean time I will be adding on to the thread. At one point I will include an Index in the Preview in the opening post so that Users can quickly zoom into the areas they feel they need to focus on (more user-friendly ). Please feel free to ask any questions if you have doubts about things written in the thread or other general tactical questions. Enjoy...

Thanks! Going to give the 4411 & 4231 set a try.

thanks LL.

i used your tactic set back in fm09 and they were great, didnt play much on fm10 but il give these a go on fm11.

i have been using my own tactics and so far they have been doing well with spurs.

i havent won the league in 3 seasons but won a few cups and got to the semi's of champions league 3 years in a row.

the main issue im having is defensively...very leaky...will score 3/4/5 but always conceed.

what is your thinking behind the defensive settings, should we go zonal or man marking, tight or loose.

seems the only way to keep clean sheets is to be too strong in attack with a high defensive line.

i dont like to do that and would like to replicate a defense like birmingham city.

they dont attack all the time or dominate games but defensively they are very very strong...and not with the greatest of defenders either.

i wouldnt say they are a counter attacking team either as they dont have great pace in their team.

even with spurs...we dont play a high def line irl...i know our defense isnt the best but last season it was good with dawson fit.

and everyone knows we play some brilliant football.

Brilliant as ever, going to give them a try.

Thanks for effort

Cheers

Simply Great !!!

Excellent! How much testing have you done with these tactics? Or are they primarily theory-based that needs a lot of tweaking?

Brilliant read. I remember using your set on fm2009 and they where excellent.

Excellent! How much testing have you done with these tactics? Or are they primarily theory-based that needs a lot of tweaking?

I don't think they need tweaking at all and I use the same tactics that can be downloaded in this thread. Only tweak if it really serves a purpose, you want to keep the team as 'balanced' as possible and this is one of the things I emphasize on when I make tactics. And yes, I have tested all the tactics - but don't spend as much time on it as people think. I have a career game going on (Watford) and do use a lot of the tactics/formations for the fun of it (even though it is not necessary). On the side I have saves with different levels of quality, I don't use much time on buying players (keeping things simple and what is available instead of finding that odd jem) or other fine-detailing as I would with my career save. Playing out the different scenarios I quickly zoom into what the sliders are effecting, I do tend to watch a full game now and then to re-confirm how I originally thought the game/ME should work. It is not an over-night assumption regarding how the ME works, it's been a gradual process over the last couple of years - so there is nothing really that new, but you might have to fine-tune some settings to coincide with how the ME reacts to settings.

This time around it has been more easy to read as the ME 'values' are more stable than previously. If you want to see things how I see them, then I think that the slider is an easy tool to discover how much you should press or attack/defend. Logically, you can't apply as much Closing Down on a better opponent in comparison to a worse opponent as the good opponent will run around your closing down players (skinning them). Looking at general Match Stats tells a lot regarding how things are working.

When you realise this aspect then the learning process is much shorter. Although the tactics appear basic, that's exactly how the game actually should be in my oppinion. After you know what type of strategies work for different scenarios then everything else is quick adjustments. I will then always carry on my career game and see if the settings I tested out in the other games works on a longer base on my career save, if things work here then I put them up for download - so, in short, yes, I do feel that I have tested them enough...

thanks LL.

i used your tactic set back in fm09 and they were great, didnt play much on fm10 but il give these a go on fm11.

i have been using my own tactics and so far they have been doing well with spurs.

i havent won the league in 3 seasons but won a few cups and got to the semi's of champions league 3 years in a row.

the main issue im having is defensively...very leaky...will score 3/4/5 but always conceed.

what is your thinking behind the defensive settings, should we go zonal or man marking, tight or loose.

I sounds a little like you are using higher Strategy than what the ME considers 'normal' or more correct. That would explain your high conceeding element, but I can't say that your approach is wrong because it seems you are doing quite well. Speaking for myself, I use only Zonal Marking for all players - tight marking in all strategies except Attacking & Overload Strategies (tight marking for Center Backs in all strategies)...

Tested the 4231 & 4411 sets with Ajax a bit. Looking good, my results so far: 8 played, 8 won (5-1, 4-0, 4-1, 3-1, 5-1, 6-0, 3-0, 2-0), the highlight being an away win at Chelsea, beating them 2-0 with the Allegri (6) tactic.

Edit: Beat Chelsea at home 3-0 with the Benitez (10). Now to face Real Madrid in the quarter finals!

exxxxelllent work, this shows that u love the game and football, and that u see it it more than a game,keep up !!!!!!! (sorry for my bad english)

Excellent work and very well described opening post(s). I'll try these out. KUTGW

Great work again, LL. As my play on FM2010 wound down I was using an altered version of your 4-2-3-1 set with great success. I used that same set in FM2011 and compared the results with a similar set created with the TC. I can't place my finger on it but with the TC, I had better results with Fluid rather than Very Fluid (Very Fluid is global, Fluid is a 5/5 split by mentality). Combined with the shouts and quick changes in mentality that the new style provides, I can only conclude that if you have the tactics set to Very Fluid, it's harder to keep your tactic balanced. I had pretty good success with tactics created by the TC in a couple of game saves. Still, I felt uncomfortable knowing what was going on, exactly, under the hood when I used a shout or wanted to change the teams mentality. I still feel like I have better control with classic. Classic tactics, the way you've set them up give me better control over how I want to play based on match odds, pitch size and weather conditions. I haven't played enough games with my Newcastle squad for them to be gelled yet. I'll report back when I'm well into the season. Great work again.

Loversleaper, what are you doing in regards to 'Match Preperation' at Watford? As there are only 3 available slots for tactics and you have so many.

Again, as everyone is saying.....GREAT WORK!!

Great work again Loversleaper! A cracking read, very informative as usual.

Loversleaper,

Fantastic thread with exceptional detail. Thanks for sharing this with us

Your tactical sets are always amazing. One of the highlights of every FM edition.

I´ve been using the 4-1-2-2-1 with Everton and Im really pleased with the results. Ive been mostly using the Mourinho (15) and Queiroz (10) with a little Tapia (7) and Allegri (6) when playing the top four away... Take a look at the mean defence:

Thanks Leaper. Great job again.

I can't wait for the 3-at-the-back pack: I've been trying to make my own, but they don't seem quite right!

Thanks for your hard work, mate!

These tactics are great!

I've got back the pleasure to play the game because of them

Thank you

These tactics are great!

I've got back the pleasure to play the game because of them

Thank you

Exactly the same for me. Was getting frustrated trying to create tactics after a hard day at work. Was genuinly contemplating giving up FM2011.

Now i have your tactic sets that are solid and consistent my job is to recruit players and select the best formation for each game. Exactly how i like playing the game and I still feel in control of the team unlike some single tactic downloads where I feel powerless to change things around.

Thanks a lot!

Great thread loversleaper- your tactics took shrewsbury from league 2 to the prem in FM09.

How do you feel the classic tactics in your match strategy do against the AI which only uses the tactics creator. I believe you were concerned that classic would be able to 'overpower' the TC due to the broader range of mentality settings available with classic?

God i love these tactic sets!

My injury ravaged Modena side went to Cremonese as favourites but with all the injuries I felt a draw would be ok. Was trailing 1-0 with 5 mins to go on the Hiddink formation so switch to England 66 and as I had to no right winger I moved my right back forward and dropped a DMC to right back.

Result...........My right back heads home an equaliser from a cross in injury time.

[video=youtube;tDABZtSRVEY]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tDABZtSRVEY

Im a 31 year old man with a young kid should i should be responsible but i jumped out my seat and punched the air when this went in.

Thanks loversleaper!

absolutely brilliant thread, thanks for all the information - and no ridiculous teasing like mr hough!

Getting some impressing results with PSV using ur 4-2-3-1 set´s concede almost nothing,currently im on a 13 game unbeaten run.

Loversleaper, what are you doing in regards to 'Match Preperation' at Watford? As there are only 3 available slots for tactics and you have so many.

Again, as everyone is saying.....GREAT WORK!!

I am going to include this aspect at one point and am glad you took time to notice some details (or lack of) regarding the thread. So far, I just use the 'set to formation' option instead of focussing on one of the tactics/strategies. 4-4-2 is my first option, from here my personal preferences would be to include the 4-4-1-1 & the 4-1-4-1. But having said that, if I do use some of the other formations I would simply have them in order of preference after the 4-4-2 option (like 4-1-3-2 & 4-3-1-2, for example). I must admit I have not gone into full detail and honestly don't think one really needs to.

I think it is good (in game terms) to have a broader focus instead of strengthening/focussing on single aspects (so I leave special focus at : none). I think it is more important that your squad/team gets more used to the formation you are using. I think match preparation is a step in the right direction - but hope that it is not a make or break option regarding tactics/strategies played out in the ME. I like that teams can 'learn' up to three formations as it gives you more tactical options, but I think four formations would be a little better - seeing as most AI Mangers can.

Great thread loversleaper- your tactics took shrewsbury from league 2 to the prem in FM09.

How do you feel the classic tactics in your match strategy do against the AI which only uses the tactics creator. I believe you were concerned that classic would be able to 'overpower' the TC due to the broader range of mentality settings available with classic?

Using purely TC settings will, of course, have its limitations. If you want to really alter things then the tweaking becomes basically the same as tweaking the classic version from scratch, which I find much more viewable/accessible (easier to use). I can't say that I am concerned that one can 'over-power' the TC with classic settings, overpowering is what causes one to be able to 'over-achieve'. The more correct one is with the settings for the next match/scenario, the easier it is to 'over-power' the AI - the ideology behind the strategy element. This doesn't necessarily mean you will win every match, but definatly you should do better than worse in the long run- thus opening the possiblility of over-achieving.

I also think that the SI has, sort of, blindsided the FM community by saying that the AI only uses the TC. I am pretty sure that if the AI does use the TC that there are two aspects that one should consider: #1 the TC is how the AI changes its strategies (to go more attacking or defensive) during a game, #2 that there is tweaking involved from the original TC settings (so that visually in the ME, the SI has tried to simulate/imitate the different Managers 'playing-styles').

I still feel that either the ME isn't totally ready for the advanced type of settings/instructions that the TC can use at times (split settings/RFD - in particular), or maybe it's just not that necessary yet. Playing simple and basic, but still choosing the (more or less) correct strategy, still responds well (thankfully). Essentially, giving a little thought on your next match (and using the aspects surrounding it) to create settings that suit/fit the scenario, will give the best reults - a lot of the other instructions/settings are more or less 'cosmetic'...

CowShedBarmyArmy: I know exactly how you feel, there's ups and downs - I find it hard to not 'over-enjoy' when a tactical attempt is successfull. When I have time to play the game I play it hardball-style (meaning not always choosing the top elite teams) as well, you take the bitter with the sweet...

Just to get back to Frag's question regarding match preperation, I am looking into the issue a lot more after he brought it to my attention. Usually when you have decided what tactic/strategy you want to start with you might have two 'back-up' options. So let's say for example: you are playing a match away from home and you are favorite so your normal decision would/should be STANDARD Strategy, you can include a DEFENSIVE Strategy (in case you want to hold on to a lead late into the match) and maybe a CONTROL Strategy as a third option if you feel that your Starting Strategy might not be attacking enough (your team doesn't seem to be making an impact).

I have to use this aspect for a while to see if it really makes that much of an impact - I have noticed, though, that when you change around strategies and later on you change back, it doesn't effect what you have already gained previously. I would appreciate any feedback/insights regarding this topic, if anyone notices how the gaining effect of the different strategies pan out in the long run - please feel free to add your thoughts/observations. Thanks...

Loversleaper, I am trying to download your tactics to my FM10 game but they do not seem to work. Can you use the FM11 tactics on FM10 or can I find your tactics for FM10 somewhere? I use the 4-2-3-1 set-ups but need the 4-1-4-1 set-ups for FM10 which I did not download earlier this year (I did download the 4-2-3-1). Also, I want to congratulate you on last year's post on the same topic. I learned a ton from your tactical theories and it helped my enjoyment of the game immensely. I have been playing CM/FM for over 10 years and am older now and simply don't have the time anymore to endlessly try out and test tactics. Your framework allowed me to play the game from a great theoretical framework without having to develop it myself which I do not have the time for (and this game has gotten much more complicated with each new edition). Thanks for your research and writing.

Loversleaper, I am trying to download your tactics to my FM10 game but they do not seem to work. Can you use the FM11 tactics on FM10 or can I find your tactics for FM10 somewhere? I use the 4-2-3-1 set-ups but need the 4-1-4-1 set-ups for FM10 which I did not download earlier this year (I did download the 4-2-3-1).

I did remove the tactics from FM10, I always clean up folders and such when the new game is released. I think that you can easily use the tactics from FM11, the only thing that might differ a little is the Closing Down & Defensive Line settings which might have to be slightly adjusted. You can try them as they are to start with, but if you run into any problems due to these two mentioned settings (the other settings still follow the same strategy theory) then I think that I actually can remember them and I can explain the simple tweaks you need to make. I am banking on, though, that the settings should be able to function just fine.

I did remove the tactics from FM10, I always clean up folders and such when the new game is released. I think that you can easily use the tactics from FM11, the only thing that might differ a little is the Closing Down & Defensive Line settings which might have to be slightly adjusted. You can try them as they are to start with, but if you run into any problems due to these two mentioned settings (the other settings still follow the same strategy theory) then I think that I actually can remember them and I can explain the simple tweaks you need to make. I am banking on, though, that the settings should be able to function just fine.

What I mean is that i think something changed in the tactical engine in that when I download the FM 11 tactics to my folder in FM10 they do not seem to be compatible.

What I mean is that i think something changed in the tactical engine in that when I download the FM 11 tactics to my folder in FM10 they do not seem to be compatible.

Yeah, I took a look last night and it appeared that Sergio Ramos was present in every area of the pitch and I had a half the team in goal... Quite funny actually. Anyway, I retrieved FM10 on Steam and somehow all the tactics were still there! So, I think that I can send them to you when I have a little time (perferably in the weekend). If you tell me what tactics you would be interrested in then I can quickly re-adjust some of the settings to make them even better then the ones I posted for the last edition.

Just bare in mind that FM10 was not as near precise as FM11 in terms of the settings and how the ME reacted to them. It would be a little harsh if I said it was fundamentally flawed, but still there was a lot that did work. Funny that you can import from FM10 into FM11 and not the other way around, weird stuff!...

So, I've been playing a game down in the Lower Leagues with a team called Worcester City (BSBN). This type of game really goes down into the basics of tactics, here you can't really play anything too advanced so I have been looking at a few interresting aspects. I haven't been including too much lately and this is because I would like to try out a lot of my theories before I post them, remember this is a thread 'still in the making'. I will include soon how to play as Master-Class, Tactician, Relegation Battler & how to play in the Lower Leagues.

I actually like this Worcester City game quite a lot, there are a lot of fun aspects playing at this level and due to the teams not being too far appart in terms of quality - it can really teach you quite a lot about the strategies you are using. I would like to show a few aspects before I finally include them in the thread, here we can look at some of the effects that one can expect - which is not just relevant for the Lower Leagues, but for the game at all levels.

Worchester City:

Media Prediction: 14th - no cash to spend and a wage budget of 4900 £ a week.

Of course, I looked around the player transfer lists and got quite a few exciting talents and basically changed out the whole squad. This, of course, has unbalanced the squad, but still the available talent is all basically from England so the 'gelling' process didn't take more than about 12 league games (plus the 6 friendlies). Now, if you do the same up in the top leagues it can (and most likely will) take a lot longer because people tend to find a lot of the really good talent abroad. Just because you really upgraded your squad it won't automatically mean that you results will get better right away - this is very important to realise. Generally if you change a huge part of your squad you will suffer on the result side because the new players are in need of 'gelling' - this will cause them to basically disobey all of your Tactical Instructions. It can take up to a half a season or more before you start to see consistancy, and that is why you sometimes really need to be thoughtful on how you are going to get the best out of the results. If you have changed too much you are really going to have to be patient and things might seem not to be working at all.

Anyway, after a shakey start (and some bad luck) things are really comming together. I have only lost one home match after going down to 9 men due to two red cards, away I have been playing really tight to bring in some consistant results as shown below:

Home: http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/510/bluesquarebetnorthinford.png

Away: http://img718.imageshack.us/img718/4741/bluesquarebetnorthinforb.png

Combined: http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/2852/bluesquarebetnorthinfor01.png

Fixture List (so far): http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/1166/worcestercityworcesterf.png

This game bellow has been the 'highlight' of the season so far, a FA Cup game against a much stronger team on home field (4-4-2_Athletico_11):

Screenshot: http://img146.imageshack.us/img146/8448/worcestervrushdenstatsm.png

View Game: http://www.mediafire.com/file/418d7ow591tf875/Worcester%20v%20Rushden.pkm

My team is slowly getting better, but just as I am writing this post my best player (striker) just got injured and out for the next 9-10 months! It is a massive blow but I am up for the challenge...

Mostly I have been playing 4-4-2_Hiddink_(15) at home, 4-4-2_Aguirre_(6) as underdog away & 4-4-2_Athletico_(11) as favorite away or large underdog at home. As you can see it is going quite good using these three tactics, the further up the leagues you go the more advanced you have to become - but, the general strategies don't change that much (Mentality). If there are any questions or screenshots people want to see (or just want to participate with input) - then please feel free...

hey loversleaper,

the op is a really nice read .

now i wanted to try your wingerless formations, but unfortunately the link is broken. Can't download the pack from mediafire, the other packs work fine.

would you mind reupping the "wingerless" pack?

cheers

maxx

hey loversleaper,

the op is a really nice read .

now i wanted to try your wingerless formations, but unfortunately the link is broken. Can't download the pack from mediafire, the other packs work fine.

would you mind reupping the "wingerless" pack?

cheers

maxx

I don't know what could be wrong for you - but I just checked out the link and it seems just fine. Since you wrote the above post there has been a couple of downloads, so it indicates that it should be working. I would try again at one point. If you still are having problems then get back in touch and we'll see what we can do about it...

Getting back to the Lower League game with Worcester City, I just played the FA Cup match home against Oxford who are two divisions higher (npower League 2) and got a good result - again using the 4-4-2_Athletico_(11). Of course I couldn't expect to dominate against a superior opponent, but I kept the tactic simple and almost stole the win - it's almost a case of 'what could have been' had I not lost my star striker just days before this match:

Match Stats: http://img171.imageshack.us/img171/5884/worcestervoxfordstatsma.png

PKM: http://www.mediafire.com/file/418d7ow591tf875/Worcester%20v%20Rushden.pkm

There are a lot of fun aspects playing in the Lower Leagues, small things like recieving 18000 £ for a Cup match which almost halved the club dept I have managed accumulate. I'm slowly getting rid of players and have a good foundation aleady for this season and something to build on if I get promoted to the Blue Square Premier...

I don't know what could be wrong for you - but I just checked out the link and it seems just fine. Since you wrote the above post there has been a couple of downloads, so it indicates that it should be working. I would try again at one point. If you still are having problems then get back in touch and we'll see what we can do about it...

unfortunately it still doesn't work.

its saying "Processing download request..." but then it won't get further on

unfortunately it still doesn't work.

its saying "Processing download request..." but then it won't get further on

I see. I saw the "processing..." part but after a few seconds the status should change to "download...", just checked it out again and I could easily download. Sometimes mediafire goes through some updating and in this short period nothing works...

Incredible effort you have put into this, I'm going to love to test some of these tactics - and provide feedback! As a lover of Italian, narrow-tactics, I'm however a bit saddened to see that the "non winger" link appears to be broken - could you perhaps re-upload it?

Edit²: The link appears to be working now, guess I'm not heading to bed after all!

im using 4-3-1-2 ancelotti 15 , mourinho 10 and italy 10 and having a unbelieveable season for napoli !! hammering ac milan 5-1 and in semis for uefa cup and italian cup and a champion of serie a . i also didnt expect such of these result !

EDIT : i just cant find good training schedule at this moment , my player are averaging age at 24 so that i wan to train them nicely . hope u guys can help me coz im lazy to

make training schedule !

im using 4-3-1-2 ancelotti 15 , mourinho 10 and italy 10 and having a unbelieveable season for napoli !! hammering ac milan 5-1 and in semis for uefa cup and italian cup and a champion of serie a . i also didnt expect such of these result !

EDIT : i just cant find good training schedule at this moment , my player are averaging age at 24 so that i wan to train them nicely . hope u guys can help me coz im lazy to

make training schedule !

Im third with Napoli using 4-3-1-2 as well.

Mourinho 15 and 10 with 4-1-3-2 Flores to close out games.

Hi Loversleaper,

Again, the highlight of the FM season other than the new game being released is the arrival of your Tactical insight thread!

I started a season previously on FM11 using your FM10 tactics (paying as Liverpool of course) and was getting on pretty well (safely in top 4). Then I saw your Tactical central thread for 2011 and the 11.1.1 patch (second patch) and so decided to start a new game. I did notice in the 3 tactics I checked, the only difference on the tactical screen I saw was in the 442 Italy (10) where the (I think) defensive line had changed by 1 notch. The other 2 (can't remember which) seemed the same.

I decided to try and formulate a strategy and attempt to be as frugal with money as possible and keep my wage bill as low as possible. I spent £46.5M on transfers (buying Mexes[DC], Dzeko[sT], Kevin[MC], Kadlec[sT], Coentrao[DL] Smithies[Gk], Butland[Gk] - some up front and some over 4 years - almost half and half) and recovered £11.5M (selling Babel, Skrtel, Kyrgiakos and loaning Aurelio and releasing Itandje and lots of younger U18/reserve players I could not sell). Net spend £35M. Kept wages around £1.3M mark.

I downloaded LLs 442/4231/41221 tactical sets, did my own training schedules with an emphasis on attacking/tactical/ball control for general schedules to improve my squad's passing and preseason schedules that focus physical/tactical aspects to improve physical and mental stats preseason. I do the press conferences (going for many of the top positive answers with regards to my team and not commenting on rivals/opponents players). The teamtalks I have left to Sammy Lee, my Asst Manager, who after analysis was the best candidate to be Asst Manager based on 4/5 stats I was looking for.

I also decided that rather than rely on squad players I later intended to sell (I couldn't get rid of initially) I decided to play my younger potential stars in there place as cover for injuries and when needing to rest my main players, league cup and occasional Euro Cup matches. For this reason I have yet to use Konchesky, Poulsen and Brad Jones. The simple reason being I intend to use the younger players later but the older players mentioned have no future at the club.

Anyway, back to tactics, and based on the match preparation module (3 formations you can train) I decided to stick to 1 formation (442 in this case) and in fact to the same 3 tactics (I had set on the match preparation screen) to try and breed familiarity. Team focus set to Team Blend to aid in the gelling of the team to my tactics. My 3 chosen Loversleaper formations - 442 Milan (16), 442 Italy (10) and 442 Athletico (11). The 442 Milan (16) is my all weather home tactic and the 442 Italy (10) and 442 Athletico (11) are my closing the game out at home or away from home tactics.

So far, 9 league games in my results are the following (currently at end of October 2010 in my first season) -

17 games played, 17 games won, 49 goals for and 7 goals against (best start I have ever made) consisting of

4 Euro Cup Qualifing matches (against much lesser oppostion) won

3 Euro Cup League matches (against lesser opposition) won

1 League Cup match (against a much lesser opponent) won

9 English Premier League matches won -

Liverpool 1 Everton 0

Birmingham 0 Liverpool 1

Liverpool 4 West Brom 1

Blackpool 1 Liverpool 6

Arsenal 0 Liverpool 1

Chelsea 0 Liverpool 1

Liverpool 2 Wigan 0

Liverpool 4 Man Utd 1

Liverpool 3 Sunderland 1

Early matches were a struggle and results had to be ground out. There has been some good luck on the way but my team are starting to play a bit better and their knowledge of the formations and aspects like closing down etc are getting better according to the match preparation module.

Man Utd played 442 against me at Anfield and I played 442 Milan (16) and came from a goal down at half time to lead 2-1 after about 60-70 mins. I switched down to Italy with fullback tweak around 80 min mark and caught them out twice more to win 4-1. I was deserving of the win but the margin was slightly fortuitous, perhaps 3-1 would have been a fairer score.

The 1-0 wins away to Chelsea and Arsenal saw both teams play me with 41221s with advanced wingers. Each time I started without the fullback tweak and watched closely to see if it would be required. I started and stayed with 442 Italy (10) for both games. For the Arsenal game I only implemented the fullback tweak after about 60 mins to close the game up a little. I actually had 53% possesion in the Arsenal game at the Emirates stadium and 9 shots on goal to their 10. I was a deserved winner in a hard fought match scoring in the 26th minute. In the Chelsea game I came under immediate pressure and so implemented the full back tweak straight away (after 10-15 mins at most) and then had a good control for large parts of the game from then on. I scored with 4 mins to go till half time. Chelsea had 2 goals disallowed (1 looked dodgy and the other was correctly disallowed. I had a goal disallowed and hit woodwork 3 times. Chelsea had 52% of possesion, 17 shots to my 15 shots, Chelsea had 3 shots on target to my 6. Again, another hard fought game but my team played well and deservedly edged this encounter.

I think my strategy to allow youth a chance (bucking the trend at many clubs today IRL) is bearing fruit but it must be managed carefully. So far the following youth/younger players have made appearances -

Alex Smithies Gk (20) - 1 start and 1 substitute appearance (would be more but injured with broken finger)

Jack Robinson DL (turned 17 on 1st Sept 2010) - 4 starts and 1 substitute appearance

Danny Wilson DC (18) - 1 start and 9 substitute appearances

Daniel Schwaab DR (22) - 2 starts and 2 substitute appearances

Kevin MC (18) - 1 start and 3 substitute appearances + 1 goal

Jonjo Shelvey MC (18) - 0 appearances - been injured

Danny Pacheco ST (19) - 4 starts + 3 goals

David NGog ST (21) - 2 starts and 4 substitute appearances + 1 goal

Vaclav Kadlec ST (18) - 9 starts and 5 substitute appearances + 8 goals

Tactics are important but are only part of a bigger approach as other factors can affect your players ability to perform to your tactical wishes like morale, gelling, manager comments etc.

Although early in the season, these tactics look to be excellent and the main reasons for my good start is down to the tactics, my organised startegy/approach to this game and also some good old fashioned luck!

Play well everyone and enjoy your games...

Great thread Loversleaper as always, special hello also to Melogroovy and Beardeye who also provided me with great assistance last year.

Bearing in mind Torres has been injured and played only 5 starts and 1 substitute appearance (he didn't play in any of the wins against Chelsea, Arsenal or Man Utd) makes the start I made all the more remarkable.

Im loving these tactics more and more.

Just travelled to top of the table Inter with my third placed Napoli.

Decided to go for 4-1-3-2 Flores (10)

Secured a 2-2 draw with both their goals long range scorchers that were hard to prevent.

Lavezzi scored this delicious lob while surrounded by three defenders.

[video=youtube;37x2y4XE8_A]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=37x2y4XE8_A