FM 12 - Play with one formation and be successful

Is it possible ? Using and keeping one formation Home and Away and win trophies, minor tweaks are OK but not major changes ?

I have one formation.

The only change i make each game, is to change my full-backs from wing-backs attack if at home, to full-backs defend if away. Also have a selection of "shouts" to choose from to chop and change during the game.

Yes! Whatever people will try to tell you - you can be successful using just one formation. And you don't have to necessarily tweak your tactics for every match. On the other hand though, the more you pay attention to the details (e.g. tweaking your tactics, team talks, etc.) the more likely you will have success. I usually only have one tactic in my savegames since I started with FM09 and I always won lots of trophies.

And what formations also ?

Mine is a 4-1-2-2-1.

Full-backs can either get involved on the wings. Or just defend if it's a tough game.

Only time I ever switch is from a 4-5-1 to a 4-4-2 depending on my available strike power but 90% of the time Ill have one or the other. Ill switch roles depending on the strength of the opposition but apart from that I dont do much.

The good thing about FM is, that you don't need to have a specific formation to be successful. If you don't want to create an own tactic, you can go to the tactics forum and choose a tactic that you like and that also works for a lot of people. If you want to create an own tactic, try to start with something simple like 4-4-2 or 4-2-3-1 and adjust the sliders from match to match until you like it. Extreme settings for the sliders e.g. fastest passing) sometimes struggle to work for me btw. I always found it hard to get a 3-man backline to work.

I've been using only 4-1-2-1-2 for more than 10 years in the game with some real success, although it is not that popular as 4-2-3-1, 4-1-2-2-1.

If you have a good solid tactic you will not need to make major changes all the time, if you have a poor tactic that rely's on one kind of chances or a few players being in top form then yes you will need to constantly change things to win. I personally use a 4-4-2 home or away, i start every game the same way, but i have various shouts set up depending on the first 15 minutes of the game, i have 3 different sets of shouts for home games, 1 for losing, 1 for scoring early against a bigger team and 1 for defending an important lead, and again 3 set up for away, same situations, i also change these about if needed, i could be winning at home but not creating enough so ill just use the individual shouts in that situation. I never change the formation, even when i dont have enough players in each position when players are injured or suspended, ill play players out of position but adjust their roles, and i adjust certain roles for bigger away games to make the side more compact

I have two tactics, but both are the same formation (41212), the difference being in mentalities, tempo, width and defensive line. I just switch between them according to the situation in hand and have a lot of success.

Yeah, unless things are going extremely well or extremely badly, it's very rare for me to deviate from my two 4-1-2-1-2 setups, with an AMC and a DM rather than two in the centre. The default tactic's got a DL/DR and ML/MR, the other's slightly more offensive with WBL/WBR and AML/AMR.

I've no qualms about playing 1-4-5 or 6-4-0 (with a sweeper) if the scoreline dictates.

Yes I do, my main formation is 442 that I tweak using the wizard. Tweaking depends on a number of factors e.g opposition, type of game, pitch and so on. The tweaks might include width, tempo and mentality etc. I also use tailor made touch-line shouts to supplement/compliment the formation.

It is a 442 attacking shape, rarley do I do a flat back 442 (almost 4222) and the players have specific roles and duties.

I do keep in the tactics area a 451 that I use occasionally if I want to experiement or have striker injuries.

But for the last 2/3 seasons it has been 442. Most of the time it is successful but it can have it's drawbacks when playing flair teams from Europe.

I've used the same Formation since FM 2010, still works with FM12.

I have used the same tactic in 4 different saves since FM11. 4-1-2-1-2 Defensive. I dont do wingers!

Unfortunately it has made the game rather passive for me now. I now watch how players develop, knowing that I dont need to make any changes.

It seems that no-wingers-4-1-2-1-2 is not that unpopular as I thought.

I always use the same tactic home and away. I think I have found a good balance, allowing the same setup to dominate and push the opponent deep as well as counter-attacking when defending. It is definitely possible - the clue is to allow the players to deal with whatever problems the opposition cause you both defensively and offensively. The more "Often" or "Rarely" and extreme slider positions you have, the less options you give your players.

I play with the same 4-5-1 (5 AP's & 1 AF) away or home. 1st season was a struggle but 2nd season is getting better. I just make small changes depending on who or where im playing. Also if the opponent team is playing 1 up front i change the setting to never close him down. So far have have 3 trophies, 244 scored and 82 conceded. So it really depends on your players and how you get them to play. But like Koki said, you can just use 1 tactic and be successful.

I have been using just 1 formation for 6 seasons and the results have been steady and improving (with my squad improving), I won the CL for the first time with the team last year and have been winning the league consistently.

i tried on one formation, but my away from is terrible for some unknown reason so i use a differant one.

I've kept the same formation for 15 years and been extremely successful. Seems to fall short In Europe though but I don't mind

Same formation. Yes.

Same tactic. No.

Players change. Opponents change. So should you.

Of course you can succeed with one formation. I don't think anyone has ever said you can't.

However, it becomes easier to succeed if you change your match strategy and playing style to suit the conditions and opposition, and adjust the roles and duties to best suit the skills of your starters (as long as this doesn't harm the movement patterns of the formation). Even if you don't do this, you can still do well. However, you are missing out on the potential to do even better.

It is, of course, also possible to do well by designing a system the AI can't cope with. Then you never need to change tactics, as you win by exploiting the mechanics and holes in the ME. They are becoming few and far between as the ME improves, but they still do exist.

4-5-1 (1 DM, 2 MC, AML and AMR) in two different modes. Winning mode, and status quo mode. Starting with the winning mode in every match, whoever I'm playing, both home and away. Switching to status quo mode when I want to secure a lead in the last minutes of a match, or when my opponent switches to "panic" mode. Often leads to me bagging another goal or two, countering. Very much the "Wenger" approach ... for good or bad.

For me, my starting formation is basically God. I do create two backup formations, but they're used only rarely, and they're really just variations on the main one anyway. The main formation will dictate what players I'll buy, what players I'll sell off, and how my players are trained. I'm very likely to keep it the same between seasons, though I might change some of the roles in it.

I tweak everything else, though: Rotate my squad, change match strategies, use shouts and opposition instructions galore.

still playing my deep 4231 from fm 11, am now in the 4th season, Have won the league twice, champions league, 3 spanish cups, 3 super cups, 1 european supercup and currently won all the 18 games Ive played so far. banging every team in la liga with villarreal and dont even have one wonderkid.

so, if the tactic is really superb, then you can play with the same for over 100 years and it will still bring you the most success.

but you need to test it for at least 1 complete season in order to say, whether a tactic is good or not, cause as morale plays an important part, its quite usual, that you get a run of 10 games unbeaten, you think youve found the right tactic, then get the first defeat and your starting to lose and you wonder, why nothing works anymore... this just tells you, that the good results were much more due to the superb form and morale of your players, than the tactic itself.

Having played as a journeyman for my FM12 save I'd say you can use just one formation if you stay with the same club, or even in the same country, but with different cultures and different prevalence of systems you have to be adaptable in order to get the best results. I've managed in England, Germany, and Brazil, and there's been almost no cross-over in the formations I've been effective with. I've used 4-2-3-1, 4-3-1-2, 4-4-2, 4-5-1, 4-3-3, 4-2-4, 3-4-1-2, 3-3-1-3, and 4-2-1-3 to decent effect in different countries and situations.

Funny, I have also gravitated to the 4-1-2-1-2 with the weaker teams I manage. One good Striker and a good MC or AMC to feed through balls and it's a 4-4-2 killer, which is why I think it may be a useful formation in FM11+12. The AI can't cope with the overloaded middle and two strikers. Works best against compact low pressing 4-4-2's. That said, I switch to my own 4-4-2 against more expansive teams and a wide 4-5-1 against odd teams (teams playing 4-3-3, 3-4-3, 4-5-1, etc.., with an 'odd' number up front).

I like to change formations quite a bit.

First of all,because when I start in a team I'll adapt the formation to the players (and later decide if I need to buy players suitable for that formation,or players for a whole new formation).

Then I also see it as a kind of challenge. Being able to use more formations can't but help.

USed 4-1-2-1-2 almost exclusively with my Blackburn team. As previously mentioned I tweak instructions and roles rather than formation and can definately be succesful. The only actualy formation change I can remember making recently is dropping a striker back to DM to shore up the defence when winning against one of the big boys/ or my title challengers. Two formations with the same player position can be completely different depending on instructions and opposition formation its all about the tweaks to give you the edge.

It is possible. I always use one formation and in the majority cases one tactic and I'm very successful.

Im using 4-5-1, 1 DM, 2 MC, AML and AMR, fluid attacking (work ball in the box, push higher up) all the time with Dortmund, Sporting CP and now with Ajax. Had great success without changing it.

I'm surprised how common the 4-1-2-1-2 has been on here. I'm managing Charlton in a (slow-paced) network game, and the 4-4-2 (as I call it, with a narrow diamond midfield*) has won me two successive first-placed promotions, with almost noone bought in at the start of the second season, as well as somehow winning me the league cup, and getting me (so far, this season is still ongoing) to the final of the FA Cup, both in the second season. I use the same formation every game, although depending on the players I've got I'll sometimes change the player role and duty to what I feel works best for them, and during the game I will change the formation if the situation calls for it, or if I'm making a substitution and don't want to (or aren't able to) make a straight swap.

I've got a few games left (including the FA Cup final!) this season, and I've got a future transfer coming in on a free from Europe who is seriously one of the best regens I've ever seen. Only problem is, he's a left midfielder. However, he's so good that I've been experimenting, these last few games, with a very unique formation, which includes one left midfielder, and either an off-centre (on the right) attacking midfielder, or a right winger. Haven't decided yet, as I don't actually have an wide players at all, other than my full-backs and this left midfielder coming in.

Here's the new formation (don't worry, players have been removed, so it's spoiler-free - this isn't the Good Player Guide) I'm experimenting with, for next season. That off-centre AMC may be changed into an AMR, depending on if I can bring anyone in or not. It has a COMPLETELY different feel to my current formation, often overwhelming opponents in the opposition box, though obviously it's nowhere near as solid defensively as my previous formation (which has led me to concede the least goals in the league for the first two seasons so far). I'll probably need to overhaul a lot of my team next season, as a lot of them are still players from the first window of the first season, and I don't have a guy who can head the ball anywhere other than my centre-backs, and this new tactic results in a LOT of crosses coming in.

I also need to change my AMC. In the past, the attacking midfielder has been a stationary, long-shots-and-through-balls type advanced playmaker, picking up multiple goal of the month awards, as well as bunches of team of the week appearances (even though team of the week uses a flat 4-4-2), and basically being the lynchpin of the entire team, dictating everything. But in this formation, that same AMC doesn't get much time on the ball, and I'd be much better suited getting in someone who's comfortable rushing into the box to provide options for my other players. Basically, a Tim Cahill type.

Oh, and here's that regen that's coming in on a free that's so good he's causing me to reconsider my entire tactical approach to the game...

(I have no idea why they let his contract run out)

And yes, he can play CM, so technically I could slot him into my existing tactics, but I've found my current tactic doesn't really work unless my two CMs are ball-winning midfielders who are great at putting in a tackle. And as a result of this, my two CMs usually just feed the ball off to my AMC, or one of my fullbacks. So I don't think I'd be getting the best out of this new guy, just putting him in as a BWM, especially as the stats that I can see (got a scout on him currently) suggest he's so, so much more than that.

Oh, and sorry for the wall-of-text. I don't post here often these days.

*Basically, for me, my current tactic goes like this:

GK

FB-CB-CB-FB

DM

CM-CM

AM

ST-ST

I always play a 4-2-3-1 (wide) and am pretty successful. I change strategy depending on opponent and situation during the match, as well as using various shouts but only ever change formation if I need a goal late in the game and I move my AMC up to play as an extra ST.

I used to be able to do it but struggle in 12. It's usually great for 10 games or so then the wheels come off as if the tactic becomes useless. Now I have three tactics. A 4-4-2, 4-5-1/4-3-3 and a 4-3-1-3/4-2-3-1 but all players instructions/Team Instructions and mentalities etc are the same across the board and this is working well just changing formation depending on the opponents.

I used to be able to do it but struggle in 12. It's usually great for 10 games or so then the wheels come off as if the tactic becomes useless. Now I have three tactics. A 4-4-2, 4-5-1/4-3-3 and a 4-3-1-3/4-2-3-1 but all players instructions/Team Instructions and mentalities etc are the same across the board and this is working well just changing formation depending on the opponents.

You'd expect more success with the bolded one, wouldn't you?

I usually try to stick with one main formation and keep 2 'Oh Shiiiii...' reserve formations; one attacking, one defensive.

My main formation is then slowly evolving via player instructions and tweaks while retaining the same general shape and style.

There's never really any need to play more than one formation as a balanced shaped (442, 451/4231, etc.) can be adjusted for nearly any situation.

You'd expect more success with the bolded one, wouldn't you?

Ha ha, well spotted!! I meant 4-2-1-3.

I also need to change my AMC. In the past, the attacking midfielder has been a stationary, long-shots-and-through-balls type advanced playmaker, picking up multiple goal of the month awards, as well as bunches of team of the week appearances (even though team of the week uses a flat 4-4-2), and basically being the lynchpin of the entire team, dictating everything. But in this formation, that same AMC doesn't get much time on the ball, and I'd be much better suited getting in someone who's comfortable rushing into the box to provide options for my other players. Basically, a Tim Cahill type.

If your old AMC was your 2nd best player, which it sounds like he was, I wonder if you can drop him into the MC or even DMC position to create from deep?

I have used the brazilian 4-2-2-2 for my whole career so far that has gone on for 7 seasons now. Same formation, I just tweak a few positional instructions like changing CM's from Support to attack if we are at home, FB's to WB's, etc. Same formation this whole time and I have been very successful managig in Brazil, Italy and France so far.

You'd expect more success with the bolded one, wouldn't you?

You're clearly forgetting the AI cheats when it has fewer players.

I've used the same Formation since FM 2010, still works with FM12.

Same here. Flat 4-4-2 with one midfielder barrowing back to DM on defense. Both forwards are set to run with the ball often and shoot from distance rarely.

I never tweak my tactics for home and away and I win the league title easily and do well on sims.

I have to change year to year sometimes though, as what will work one year won't work the next. But once I get my formation I keep it until it stops working.