does fm 09 reward defensive play?

i'm noticing that if i play defensively (with any formation you like), i'll probably concede and if i play attacking i'll probably concede but score too and so have more chance of winning, even away from home.

this sounds obvious but from a game perspective it can be infuriating.

what are your observations? am i mistaken?

I have found out that when playing defensively i have more chances and from time to time only loose 1-0 with the odd 6-1 loss or sometimes even a draw, while when playing an attacking style i always loose 2-0 or 3-0. So i guess it is rewarded in some way. Not a very pleasing one though.

I found the answer to be no. My team is doing a lot better now with a very offensive tactic than it did before when I tried to play a defensive, methodical game.

Defenders are incompetent in this version, more so than others, so no, my advice to you would be to try and outscore the opposition.

Defenders are incompetent in this version, more so than others, so no, my advice to you would be to try and outscore the opposition.

Actually my defenders are doing great 6 goals conceded in 30 league matches they cut every ball before it reaches the area

They always have 7.2+ rating so Im satisfied

Just shame that I still couldnt find a way to use 2 strikers... the second one always screws up badly :|

I have been playing as Millwall and played with a defensive 4-3-3 (1 DM and 2 CM) and conceded 35 goals on 46 games (scored 40, finishing 15th). Though, I moved up to Preston and using nearly the same tactics have now conceded 17 on 12 matches scoring 20.

I completely disagree! admittedly I have a good defence but I am on a great run of games without conceding, using my extreme (for me) defensive formation. I am far more consistent with this. And in my game the defenders seem excellent.

Im in my 2nd season at Spurs and in Feb and sitting top of the league.

have only conceded 12 goals so far, best in the league and I have my mentality as normal (but leaning towards attacking).....so you can have an attacking team.

I suppose just liek in real life, if you sit too deep and play too defensive, you will get punished as you are inviting people to attack you.

So far from the games I have played, playing defensive tactics definitely is rewarding provided you have the right balance of players and a bit of luck ofcourse. Counter-attacking is something you might want to be looking into if you play defensive formations.

There's defensive play?

I find with lower clubs defensive play can be extremely rewarding. It can prevent you from losing to a better side by getting a draw away or even winning (usually by luck). But it's important to not be too defensive, and to be capable of play counter-attack.

I'm giving upon 09 until the patch. nothing i do seems to work except all out attack and i can do that on McConsole Manager anytime I want.

if i play defensive then my players play fine, but the ai always plays 1 notch better. goals come from nothing, 30 yard long shots, players worth 500k dribble through my entire midfield, my entire defense, past my center backs and place it perfectly in the top corner.

players dont seem to close down on the OI either. you set it and they'll sprint up to the ai player and .. do nothing. just shadow him as he runs towards your goal. I've just played a match where i told my DMC to man mark and close down (OI) their star player and all he did was run around with him like they were siemese twins until he just runs off in the other direction leaving the striker to score?! PKM: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?yjommtxmrmt

I havent tried playing with a big club, but if thats the only way to enjoy the game I think I'll call it a day for now.

I play a defensive 4-4-2 as AFC Wimbledon against the bigger teams in the BSPremier and I'm reaping the benefits nicely.

I once played for a 0-0 draw and got it.

Won quite a few aswell.

I'm giving upon 09 until the patch. nothing i do seems to work except all out attack and i can do that on McConsole Manager anytime I want.

if i play defensive then my players play fine, but the ai always plays 1 notch better. goals come from nothing, 30 yard long shots, players worth 500k dribble through my entire midfield, my entire defense, past my center backs and place it perfectly in the top corner.

players dont seem to close down on the OI either. you set it and they'll sprint up to the ai player and .. do nothing. just shadow him as he runs towards your goal. I've just played a match where i told my DMC to man mark and close down (OI) their star player and all he did was run around with him like they were siemese twins until he just runs off in the other direction leaving the striker to score?! PKM: http://www.mediafire.com/download.php?yjommtxmrmt

I havent tried playing with a big club, but if thats the only way to enjoy the game I think I'll call it a day for now.

Yes, that's infuriated me more than once.

having told my team to always close Ronaldo down its so annoying watching three of my players run up to him, stop, and then chase after him as he goes down the wing.

Yes, that's infuriated me more than once.

having told my team to always close Ronaldo down its so annoying watching three of my players run up to him, stop, and then chase after him as he goes down the wing.

well in that cast iron example, you can see my entire defense runs away from him like he has herpes.

two men who are marking him simply sprint off after someone else.

its ridiculous and _its not my tactics_.

patiently awaiting patch now. k thnx bye! :thup:

hrumpf well it looks like I found my problem: RoO doesnt work very well in fm 09 it seems.

I switched to a 442 diamond and got rid of wingers completely and moved onto a 5x5 mentality and i'm top of the league now. with conspicous goalage and a defensive wall the likes of maginot could only dream about.

hrumpf well it looks like I found my problem: RoO doesnt work very well in fm 09 it seems.

I switched to a 442 diamond and got rid of wingers completely and moved onto a 5x5 mentality and i'm top of the league now. with conspicous goalage and a defensive wall the likes of maginot could only dream about.

Sounds like something I could use, desperate for a consistant tactic, care to post it?

Sounds like something I could use, desperate for a consistant tactic, care to post it?

i've only been using it for 10 games and it is very suited to my squad (so i'd be amazed if it worked for you tbh) but you are welcome to have a go with it:

http://www.mediafire.com/?zyvnrmqmydd

right sided striker is target man and must be good header. any old tall striker or FC will do here. I play Manucho since he's on loan and has a nice mix of heading and striking skills.

left sided player needs to be quick and creative but also helps if he can head a ball. I use Victor Moses.

DMC needs to be good marker and tackler and have high work rate and determination if possible. passing is also very useful as he will look to distribute the ball in short passes to the midfield or full backs. I play James Wesolowski here who is great but a bit slow. Set him to man mark the ai's best creative midfielder or AMC if they play one.

I play creative, good passing DMC's in midfield. Ferrie Bode, Tom Lewis, Pierre-Baptiste Beherle etc. technique, passing, workrate vital. not so much the defensive stuff tbh. they need to be able to play on the wings (DMC/ML/MC etc or you need a utility winger on the bench for when you switch to attack or play on a wider pitch).

AMC is playmaker so high work rate, off ball, passing, creativity. if he can head a ball even better.

tactic has sweeper keeper set so you need a keeper with good positioning and rushig out. you can remove it if you want no big deal.

in the standard and defensive version you play narrow so you need to cut out their wingers. the game is played through the middle too so using it away is good, as long as you can shut their wingers out. helps a lot for me because the championship has mainly narrow/short pitches and lots of teams like to sit back and counter attack.

attacking version is down both flanks ..

it seems good at retaning posession and creates a lot of chances if you have creative quick forwards. i play at championship level and have no money at all so I have no idea how it works with better players or against more aggressive formations.

opposition instructions are important. you need to set them based on the players weaknesses. close down slow players. push onto weakest foot. dont close down fast players etc etc.

the attacking version is very attacking, the defensive version very defensive. so gung ho and SUS basically (also wide and narrow respectively). the standard is my multitool and I adapt it to suit the pitch ands start msot games home and away with it. so change to flanks passing and move your midfielders out to the wings or middle passing based on the opponent.

individual set pieces are defaults through the team, i havent done them yet. so if you have some joy with it, and set them, upload it somewhere? i suck at set piece configs.

PS: this is setup for championship and relies on your players having high work rate and determination. creativity, passing and team work are vital for the midfield two and your AMC needs to be good for this level so Adams, Petrucci, Tol etc. mentalities and passing need tweaking for continental level.

5x5 relies heavily on creative forwards who can find space and through balls and have high work rate (kuyts etc).

playing out and out strikers wont work .. just a heads up.

and its not finished. you asked so i uploaded, but you'll need to tweak it. i've since turned long shots to most players to rarely as we were blazing 15 over the bar every game. oh and I also played a rOo 4411 last season to good effect. but it was too succeptible to the counter, this one is less so. that was my aim, a sounder defense. the attack has been a pleasant suprise.

Thanks, I'll definitely be giving it a go. The solid tactic I eventually developed in 08 was very much narrow/through the middle and I'm trying to find something similar in this version. My squad is a pretty talented german first division side but I'm sort of a clueless yank when it comes to tactics

have fun. my forwards are hopeless.

check out this match and the number of good crosses we get in ..

saved in the 90th minute by a dodgy goal and only after manucho got booked for diving. :thup:

PKM highlights: http://www.mediafire.com/?hqnzmeznzz5

started with Standard, carefully setting oi's. couldnt get it in the net, and after going 1-0 down to a defensive error I went Attack around 70 mins in and brought on my pacey winger Ntuka.

snatched the draw at the death .. perfect playmaker assist.

SIX clear cut chances ffs.

post match stats look pretty typical really and give a good guide as to what sort of players you need where:

as you can see heading is important for the target man.

the center backs need heading concentration and positioning. the full backs work hard defensively too. 5x5 means the entire defense will work together and move together so you need good team work stats for all.

good news is the tactic is very light fitness, average only 8km a game. good for injury prone players. the defense version is so lazy my team was finishing the games on 85% fitness. hehe.

ps: ignore the ratings they are fubar in this version

hmm at home when favourites go Attack

just beat bristol 6-0 and they have NO shots on target. :thup:

used AMR/AML wingers I had in the squad instead of DMC's out wide. total ownage.

5x5 is really hot it seems .. no wonder all these people are winning everything. the ai cant stop the crosses.

I am throwing everyone forward except 2 DC's and goalie.

The defence in this version is laughable especially the ease with which wingers get to the byline. Never has the saying "the best defence is a good offence" been more true.

Won the EPL 1st season as MCity (easy mode I know but something I never managed in'08) conceding 25 goals

I am throwing everyone forward except 2 DC's and goalie.

The defence in this version is laughable especially the ease with which wingers get to the byline. Never has the saying "the best defence is a good offence" been more true.

Won the EPL 1st season as MCity (easy mode I know but something I never managed in'08) conceding 25 goals

i havent even tried a bigger squad yet .. but you do get the impression this game would sell millions of copies even if it was just called Premier League Manager. such is the appetite for footie fans to 'have a go with city' or united or chelsea. i know it appeals to me.

what sort of formation did you use and mentalities? RoO just falls flat on it face for me. which is a shame because for three or four versions I have built a lovely catenaccio style of play around it and enjoyed myself.

oddly enough this tactic/formations are identical to the ones I used in CM for years and swore by. bit of déjà vu going on there. DM/L was seth johnson and baggio was AMC. james flood was striker and henrik larsson target man etc.

I tried your tactic Les, but i turned the game off and promptly uninstalled it when Sidwell scored a hat trick of 45 yard punts despite being closed down and shown onto weaker foot at all times.

Terrible game this year.

I tried your tactic Les, but i turned the game off and promptly uninstalled it when Sidwell scored a hat trick of 45 yard punts despite being closed down and shown onto weaker foot at all times.

Terrible game this year.

hehe got to love dem dere wunder gols.

I can't understand why this slipped through testing ..

can only presume they didnt test it or didnt care. weird really, once you stop being emotive and actually think about it: wtf happened? odd.

was 08 this bad? I dont recall it having so many match engine bugs. but maybe I am blinkered by fond memories of fully patched up versions ..

Well yes it was until the second patch came out. We had hundreds of disallowed goals and strikers shooting straight at the goalkeeper all the time.

The second they seem to have brought back into the match engine which is baffling.

Well yes it was until the second patch came out. We had hundreds of disallowed goals and strikers shooting straight at the goalkeeper all the time.

The second they seem to have brought back into the match engine which is baffling.

fair enough. well sort of established a precedent now then ..

just gotta wait and see what santa brings.