Best Formation

my best formation is 3-5-2 with 2 wing backs and an attacking midfielder .....whats your best formation ??

thats easy --- a 0-0-0

well done lol

seriously, i've had a 5-3-2 working very well for West Ham when going up against the likes of Arsenal, even away at the Emirates

mainly i play a 4-1-3-1-1 .. but of course it all depends on personnel ...

maybe better suited for tactics forum this.. anyhow, in FM08 I always found 4 2 3 1 with wingers with arrows to penalty area a killer. storemed through the leagues with Crewe

Either 4-4-2 or 4-3-1-2

As beardedwonder says, this should be in the tactics forum, but a narrow formation seems to work best in 08 and 4-2-3-1 works for me.

I play the christmas tree formation, 4-3-2-1. Although its a bit out of season

Mine is a very original one i like to call 4-4-2

I've had success with a 4-1-3-2 formation.

It usually depends on the squad I've inherited.... I've played with the 4-4-2 regular and diamond, 5-3-2, 4-1-3-2, and a 4-5-1.... My favorite is probably the 4-4-2 diamond as I'm playing with Chelsea right now with it.

4-2-3-1 and its variants.

I play the christmas tree formation, 4-3-2-1. Although its a bit out of season

Did you know if you use that formation in the game when you have a match on the 25th or the 26th of December...no matter what...you will always win, you can beat Man Utd with Stevenage Borough?

Ive had huge succsess with the ther 4-4-2 with sliders set correctly i find it very dangerous. Of coarse i somtimes use a 4-5-1 and other formations but i like a strong midfield

4-4-2 Diamond

OR

4-2-2-2

I like 4-4-1-1.

I use a classic 4-4-2 formation, but with very specific individual instructions (based on the players' abilities). I also have a 5-3-2, counter-attack variant with two WB for tough away games

I use 4-4-2 diamond formation with wingers very useful! Although i wouldn't agree that narrow is the best way for fm... i find my team plays happily well going wide and if i am finding it hard to break down opposition i will go wider and slightly more direct... Always works and find myself winning even those that would seem impossible when the keeper is saving everything!

My formations are all equally crap!

I've got a great goalkeeper and super defenders, so i play a 3-4-3. If i need more defence, i play a 3-1-4-2.

My formations are all equally crap!

So are mine.

Does anyone use the same formation as they used for FM2007?

4-4-2 all the way.

my best formation is 3 centre backs, 2 wing backs, 2 centre mids and an attacking mid playing some sweet triangles and 2 strikers to cap it off.

I'd love to use 4-4-2, if I was a real manager it's the one I would always use, but I can never get it to work on FM.

A classic 4-4-2 with attacking wingers, occasionally a diamond in the midfield.

4-3-3, Gk, DR, DC, DC, DL, DM, MC, MC, AMR, AML, STR

and when I'm down or on a draw after 65 minutes I substitute my DM for a AM, that usually does the trick.

I tend to do either a 4-1-4-1 (with a roaming DMC) or a 4-5-1 (with my wingers coming up as forwards when in possession & the 2nd and 4th midfielders dropping back as DMCs when the opponent is in possession). I usually have a higher number of versatile midfielders on the team, which allows me to move them around into different roles.

My formation stays the same for at least 90% of the season. It's a simple 4-4-2 with slight variances in positions for my wingers throughout the season depending on form and streaks.

4-2-2-2 - GK-DR-DL-DC-DC-MC-MC-AML-AMR-FC-FC

or

4-2-3-1 - GK-DR-DL-DC-DC-MC-MC-AML-AMR-AMC-FC

Milan-style 4-1-2-1-2 preferably with a great AMC playmaker a la kaka'.

4-4-2 AMR / AML. Very simple, very effective.

A trustworthy 4-4-2. And 5-3-2 with wingbacks has worked well for me before!

FM07:

4-3-3, with a DM, 2 MCs with farrows, and FL/R with barrows. Works like a charm.

4-1-3-2 with three AMCs with farrows, used when chasing the game.

Finally, the one is use most is a 4-2-2-2. 2 MC and AMR/L.

I always give full backs farrows, but I remove these if I think the AI is going to go 4-2-4.

4-4-2 or a 4-5-1/4-3-3 hybrid.... It's more a 4-3-3, but the wider strikers drift back a little.

I play a 4-1-2-2-1 (GK DR DL DC DC DMC MC MC AMR AML FC) or as I've named it, the 'Swansea City'

Play attacking mentality, with width, short passing and high tempo.

Play zonal marking and select 'counter attack'

2 MC's both have forward runs

DMC and both MC all given free roles

Works a treat:thup:

When i was at Swansea, i played the excat same tactics, just not formation!

When i was at Swansea, i played the excat same tactics, just not formation!

spooky! well I basically just tried to play as close to the swans in real-life. as long as your midfielders have high creativity stats you cant go wrong!

I have a whole lot of formations, and I'm an idiot, because I forget which is best. I tend to be a bit too "tinkerman"-ish.

But 3 formations that I'm very please with are:

1) a simple 4-4-2 but with the ML and MR with arrows to AMC (off course not to the very central, but the ones next to it). It gives more variation to the game, as the players sometimes run down the wings, or get it in a great creative position, with lots of options around him. If one of the wide men gets it in a more central version of the wing, the other wide man will run more towards a playable position in the AMC. So there are alot of options for key passes! There's the wingback who comes forward, two MC's, one AMC and two strikers. The player on the ball are virtually surrounded by options!

2) 4-2-3-1. 4 on the defense naturally, 2 MC's with either one or two of them with barrows, 3 AMC's with arrows to wide and a striker. But with WB's with farrows. Those farrows works wonders!

3) I have customised a tactic for the "annoying" teams, like Arsenal and such. 4-1-2-3 with 1 DMC, 2 MC, 1 FR and 1 FL and 1 ST. WB's have farrows up one pos. to ensure that they have great balance in attacking and defensive (the trick is to tone their mentality a bit down, so the two things works together). The FL and FR have arrows towards the penalty area, so that they are wide for most accounts, but also works as regular strikers when the attack are build up by passing. The main factor here is that it's a counter attacking tactics down the wings, to take advantage of the very offensive backs these teams use. Works wonders as long as you have solid defenders!

At the moment it's a 3-5-2 with wingbacks, a sweeper and a defensive midfielder. In the game it thinks it's a 5-3-2 - I guess technically it's a 1-2-2-3-2. Meh, anyway, the sweeper has a forward arrow and zonal marking, higher closing down than the central defenders and has to be quick so he can chase any loose balls down. The defenders man mark, tight with easy tackling, the wingbacks also man mark, as do the two more attacking midfielders - the defensive mid is really the middle midfielder with a back arrow and has zonal marking. Add to this short passing and a quick tempo and it can be lovely to watch, even with a lower league team.

I don't put forward arrows on my wingbacks purely because when I was using a 4-4-2 formation, I took the forward arrows away from the wingers and found they got forward a lot more at key moments, making more chances. Very odd.