The Santos Experience

The Santos Experience

Taking over a new club and trying to shape it how you want is a daunting task. So clubs already have their own philosophies and are structured to work a certain way. That doesn’t mean you cannot reshape them, it just means the whole process might take a little longer. So I thought it might be a good idea to show you how I go about doing things just to give you a little idea of how I approach the game. I hope you enjoy it J

The first things I do before anything else is go to the ‘Team Policy’ menu and sort out the stuff I have no intention of doing. In the top panel what says ‘Assistant Manager Responsibilites’ and ensure everything is ticket except the ‘handle youth intake’ option. Then underneath in the‘FirstTeam’ section I ensure the first two options are ticked. Then under the Under23’s and Under 20’s sections I make sure that ‘Use the Current First Team MatchTactics’ is selected.

I like all my teams to play the same way, so it makes sense for players to use the tactic they would be using in the first team,should they be lucky enough to progress that far. Some of the things I’ve selected in the team policy menu might change but at the start of the game I have quite a bit of work to do so I tend to allow my Assistant to be more involved at the start.

Then the second thing I do is go to the options and setup the match for how I want it. I select ‘Classic Pitch View 3D’, Match speed full and turn off replays. This just makes things a lot easier in the long run for me.

Thirdly I go to the training section and import myschedules;

Training

This year I’ve paid a lot more attention to training compared to previous years. I’ve devised pre season training, position specific training and even done some youth schedules. I’ve been trying these schedules out for a while now. In fact I started on FM 11 and then been working on them during the FM 12 beta. Now I don’t claim them to be perfect or anything as that will take several in game years to work out how good they are. But they are avery good starting place for me and seem to be working so far in my game. There nothing fancy or special and still needs quite a few tweaks but generally I’m quite happy with how they are shaping up.

The reason why I’ve concentrated more this year on trainingis the fact that Sheffield United have a few good youth player’s for a change. So I’m focusing on them and trying to use the youth set up and training facilities as much as I can. I always like to concentrate on youths and bring them through to the main squad. On previous versions I’ve not been able to do that but due to how good my current facilities are it really might be possible to get a few of them come through the ranks. I don’t expect to create anyworld-class player that’s not what I’m after. But I’m hoping to get a couple of squad players hopefully.

For pre-season I’ve just made some basic overall schedules and tried to keep it simple. I’ve done schedules for keepers, defence, midfield and strikers. I didn’t see the point in creating ones to be more position specific.

Pre-season

GK’s

Defenders

Midfield

Strikers

I’ve not had any bad injuries as of yet using these schedules. I’ve had a few little niggles here and there but that is expected due to the physical nature of them.

I use these schedules until 1 week before my opening fixture. I’ve never bothered with pre-season schedules before so I thought I’d try something a little different this time. I saw no real major benefits using these over the normal schedules thus far though. It’s something for me to keep track of for a few seasons though, as training is all about the long term. Long term I think I must see some kind of benefits.

Season Schedules

These schedules are also rather basic in terms of positions they cater for. As I plan on playing 4-1-2-2-1 and 4-4-2 at some point then I try to fit my schedules around the position I intend to use.

Keeper

Defender

Fullbacks

DMC

MC

Wingers

Strikers

I’ve just based these schedules on the attributes I intend on using for each position. These schedules are likely to change as I progress and see what effect the schedules are having on my players. Short term they seem to be doing a decent job but it’s too early to see the long term effect just yet.

I’m going to develop the youth schedules over the season as I go along, so I’ll be posting about them at a later date. As I have a lot of trial and error to do first so I have a correct base to build the schedules from. Another reason for this is I’m toying around with the idea of creating specific schedules for all the better youth players I have at the club. This could be more beneficial and allow me to focus on the attributes they will be using at a much younger age.

Once training is sorted I then go the tactic section anddecide what I’ll be using. For this save I’ll be using this tactic;

The Tactic

It might surprise people this year to see me opt for a 4-42. Normally I avoid using two strikers as it limits the formation you can create when having two upfront. But I thought I’d be a bit different this year,especially as I keep seeing people post saying 4-4-2 is dead, it doesn’t work anymore blah blah. That’s simply not true; it’s still a very formidable formation ifyou know the strengths and weaknesses. Every single formation has advantages and disadvantages. It’s just a case of knowing your own and then making the best of them in games. I’m also seeing people use 4-2-4 and claiming they have no choice but to push the wingers wide as it helps them score more goals and get more assists. Again also not true in my opinion. I can get my wingers very involved in a game and have them score a few goals and chip in with a few assists.

The main disadvantage the 4-4-2 brings is the lack of central midfielder, when playing against 4-5-1, 4-3-3. Not only does it lack the extra man in the middle, it also lacks an extra attacker as the 4-3-3/4-5-1 hybrid pushed wingers up making it a 3 pronged attack. But that doesn’t mean the 4-4-2 is any less effective than it used to be. You’ve just got to learn to adapt to situations and have a plan b should you feel something’s not working in a game. The 4-4-2 does bring its own advantages though and is one of the most versatile formations that you can use. Hopefully over the coming seasons I can show you how versatile and adaptable the 4-42 really is.

So let’s take a look at it;

That’s the formation and starting strategy.

And those are the team settings.

Some of you might be a little confused or wonder why I’ve chosen some of the settings I have, I’ll try and explain why. I’m a big club in a small league, in this league I am the Man Utd’s and Barcelona’s. Everyone wants to beat me; we are the big name attraction this season. So why not play like the above teams? I know I have a great squad filled with experience and youth. I have a really good blend of them both. So with that in mind I wanted to play attractive football. Some of play players that I have in certain roles don’t have the required attributes to play that role. However it’s more about how I want the team to play as a unit, so I’m hopefully going to demonstrate that you can use the role to good effect even if you don’t have a player who typically fits the mould for the selected role.

We will touch upon that once I actually play a game, but for now that’s the shape and setting I am using.

Here is the 2^nd tactic;

As you can see I want it to play the same style of footballas the 4-4-2 I use. But the roles are slightly different here to give me that something a little bit different.

I'm using the exact same tactic's that I posted in the other sticky thread.

Another important thing to do while in the tactic section is to create a group of custom shouts to use in game. This makes things a whole lot easier when actually in a game. These are the main ones I use;

That one is used for when I want to try and dominate agame, mainly used against lesser opposition.

I like to use this one for when I feel I’m been over run in the midfield and play on the counter attack. There the main two group of custom shouts I use every game. I’ll end up with a few more before the season finishes though J

I do all this before I even read any of the new items. It’s important for me that I have the structure in place before I see the rest of the club and meet the staff. Then once all the above is done I go to the fixtures screen and take a look at who I’m playing in the friendlies. My first competitive game is on the 19^th of January 2011 and the current in game time is 16^th of December 2010. I notice that before the first competitive game I only have 2 pre season friendlies set up. So this means that if I want my players to get match fit then I need quite a few more games. Myfirst friendly is on the 26^th of December and the second one is on the 29^th of December. So what I’ll do is arrange some easy friendlies for the 3^rd, 7^th and 11^th of January.

This should be enough friendlies to get the players match fit. It will also give them 8 days recovery before the first competitive game of the season. I also try and make sure that the last friendly is against very weak opposition if possible. This allows my players to be relaxed and hopefully score a few goals to help with morale. I don’t see the point of over doing it in pre season and play teams of higher caliber. I much prefer the relaxed easy option and I must admit it’s always served me well since Football Manager 2005.

Once all the above is done then it’s time for me to takea look at the staff screen. I need to make sure I have enough coaches, physio,scouts and so on. Anyone who doesn’t look like their any good, I will fire. If I’m lacking any member of staff I’ll go to the job centre and place an advert.

As you can see, I need coaches and more scouts. I always try and get as many scouts as physically possible. This allows me to get more reports on players and scout other nations. I like to create good database of players. I literally have my scouts work very hard, as you’ll see a little later on. Once I’ve placed the adverts for the new staff I’ll take a look at my new items.

I also like to pay attention to this screen;

So I have a good idea of what my best starting eleven is.

I then search through all my squads and sell all theplayers that I don’t need. Be aware though and ensure you leave yourself with a competitive squad and don’t leave yourself short for a certain position. Also keep in mind that you might have to use some players you don’t need for a season or so. You can’t just walk into a club and expect to change the full squads straight away. That’s unrealistic and would cost way too much money.

I have far too many players especially youth ones, so I liketo reduce the squad and just keep the ones who look like they might be useful.Over time I’ll only have 2 squads anyway, a first team and an under 20’s. But I won’t have many players in the under 20’s as I’ll keep it for players who can go on and play for the club. Any other youths who come through the ranks and don’t look promising I’ll just not sign them.

Once you’ve sorted out who to keep and who to sell its time to load up your shortlists if you have any and search to strengthen the areas of the squad you need. Once you’ve identified transfer targets and brought people in, then it’s time to look through the other squads and any players who you think are capable of playing for your first team but won’t get games yet,loan them out. It’ll be more beneficial to you in the long run. If they’re not going to play a part for you then the best thing to do is loan them out so they gain the experience needed. Only loan them out to clubs where they will be valuable first team players though and make sure the manager has a good ‘working with youngsters’ stat. As you don’t want to loan your star youth out to a manager who isn’t know for working well with youths. I’ve found out it tends to do more harm than good.

Another important aspect that I like to do is change the view of what I see on the squad screen. Take a look;

I like it to show me assists, interceptions, match fitnes sand mistakes leading to goals. I’ll add to this as the season goes on but these are the mandatory (for me at least) customized views to show.

Another important thing to do on day one is interact with the board. I asked them to invest in youth facilities, and increase youth recruitment network. And when the option becomes available I’ll also ask them to increase the scouting range. Each club is different and some clubs might have limitations due to funding or goals. But try and get the board to invest in the areas you’ll use the most. It might take a while to get them to do it but it’ll be worth it. I know everything can’t be done from the off and it can take several seasons but keep asking when you have the funding.

I try to do all the above on day one so things get moving faster.

As soon as all my players become match fit, I put then onthe normal schedules posted above. This happened on the 8^th ofJanuary 2011 on my game. That’s just before my last friendly. My results inpre-season don’t mean much because I was ensuring my players gained fitness. So I played people out of position, subbed the whole team at half time and so on. Just to make sure everyone was fit.

I won't make this a sticky just yet and I'll keep all the discussion in this thread and see how it develops. I will be adding to this a little later and discussing why the tactic is so effective and looking at each position in great detail. But I actually need to play some games now to be able to do that.

enjoying it already Cleon...hope you enjoy the 80 games per season or whatever it is in Brazil

enjoying it already Cleon...hope you enjoy the 80 games per season or whatever it is in Brazil

I love it, tactically it's one of the best leagues to play imo. The formations you come up against are so varied, 4222, 442, 451, 433, 3223, 5122 and many more. It's much more of a challenge and you can learn so much

Do you know if the Brazilian clubs have improved finances this year because of the new TV deal? Might help you hang onto Neymar for a while or you could even buy Tevez

good thread cleon. Is this the same 451/433 you mentioned in the 'project' thread; the one where the playmaker was getting 80+ passes?

Do you know if the Brazilian clubs have improved finances this year because of the new TV deal? Might help you hang onto Neymar for a while or you could even buy Tevez

Aye it's not bad, Neymar should stay a while as should Ganso

good thread cleon. Is this the same 451/433 you mentioned in the 'project' thread; the one where the playmaker was getting 80+ passes?

Indeed it is

A question has just occurred to me. Presumably you'll get offers for these players and you'll have to sell them at some point. So what's the best way of maximising the fee you get? I'd be worried that if the player becomes unhappy the fee might (or will) drop? Is it as simple of setting the asking price you want and sticking to it? Or should you wait for a big offer and then ask for more? Any tips?

A question has just occurred to me. Presumably you'll get offers for these players and you'll have to sell them at some point. So what's the best way of maximising the fee you get? I'd be worried that if the player becomes unhappy the fee might (or will) drop? Is it as simple of setting the asking price you want and sticking to it? Or should you wait for a big offer and then ask for more? Any tips?

Why will I have to sell at some point? The Brazillian league can attract big names. As long as I'm successful and do alright then the players should want to stay if I treat them right.

If you're forced to sell though then just take the biggest fee you can and reinvest in youth. Or try and plan several seasons infront and have a replacement ready should you sell them. Wether it be someone in your youth, reserves or someone from another club. I always plan infront just incase

Why will I have to sell at some point? The Brazillian league can attract big names. As long as I'm successful and do alright then the players should want to stay if I treat them right.

If you're forced to sell though then just take the biggest fee you can and reinvest in youth. Or try and plan several seasons infront and have a replacement ready should you sell them. Wether it be someone in your youth, reserves or someone from another club. I always plan infront just incase

lol easy tiger...so IF you want to sell a player how do you maximise his value?

lol easy tiger...so IF you want to sell a player how do you maximise his value?

I just sell him while he has atleast 18 months on his contract, any less than that and his value will start to drop. Some players though I sell for £0 and add 50% sell on clause. It all depends if I want rid of the player or not. Id rather sell someone for free and a clause rather than leave them in reserves.

If it's a first teamer then I'll only sell them if its a must sell situation, i.e player unhappy, asks for transfer or if I feel a transfer fee will benefit the club more. I don't tend to sell players much though I prefer to keep them and give em coach roles etc. I've turned down bids of £60 million for Neymar so far and £42 mill for Ganso. I've just no need to sell them atm. To maximise value though just have them play well, score goals, assists etc and that can raise value.

Why will I have to sell at some point? The Brazillian league can attract big names. As long as I'm successful and do alright then the players should want to stay if I treat them right.

If you're forced to sell though then just take the biggest fee you can and reinvest in youth. Or try and plan several seasons infront and have a replacement ready should you sell them. Wether it be someone in your youth, reserves or someone from another club. I always plan infront just incase

cleon, great thread! im finding it really helpful.

just a quick question regarding the tactic you created. do you alter the individual settings foe the positions chosen or do you leave them as default? just wondering as i have implemented the above tactic for my man utd team.

am playing some nice football but i seem to be conceding a large amount of goals. ie conceded 3 against atletico madrid in the first 20 mins??

cleon, great thread! im finding it really helpful.

just a quick question regarding the tactic you created. do you alter the individual settings foe the positions chosen or do you leave them as default? just wondering as i have implemented the above tactic for my man utd team.

am playing some nice football but i seem to be conceding a large amount of goals. ie conceded 3 against atletico madrid in the first 20 mins??

No I don't change anything except long shots for all players. I do however change the strategy depending on the type of game and if I'm favourites or if I think a team ia dangerous.

I just sell him while he has atleast 18 months on his contract, any less than that and his value will start to drop. Some players though I sell for £0 and add 50% sell on clause. It all depends if I want rid of the player or not. Id rather sell someone for free and a clause rather than leave them in reserves.

If it's a first teamer then I'll only sell them if its a must sell situation, i.e player unhappy, asks for transfer or if I feel a transfer fee will benefit the club more. I don't tend to sell players much though I prefer to keep them and give em coach roles etc. I've turned down bids of £60 million for Neymar so far and £42 mill for Ganso. I've just no need to sell them atm. To maximise value though just have them play well, score goals, assists etc and that can raise value.

thanks Cleon

No I don't change anything except long shots for all players. I do however change the strategy depending on the type of game and if I'm favourites or if I think a team ia dangerous.

i have to say cleon this system is working wonders for me as man u so far im unbeaten yet still not top of the league?? only 10 games in tho

hernandez is scoring bucket loads as the left forward ( stats so far all comps played 16 scored 25 assists 4 has been changed to poacher ) have rooney on the right but he seems to be non existent so far this season ( played 8 scored 0 assists 4 ) was wondering if there is a way to improve his performance? i ask you as you clearly know what your doing as i do not

i have to say cleon this system is working wonders for me as man u so far im unbeaten yet still not top of the league?? only 10 games in tho

hernandez is scoring bucket loads as the left forward ( stats so far all comps played 16 scored 25 assists 4 has been changed to poacher ) have rooney on the right but he seems to be non existent so far this season ( played 8 scored 0 assists 4 ) was wondering if there is a way to improve his performance? i ask you as you clearly know what your doing as i do not

Watch a few of the games you've played back and see what the issue with Rooney is. You might find he's too deep, isolated or just not recieveing the ball. It's the best way of telling what's wrong

Very interesting so far. I'll be looking forward to your analysis of matches (if you're planning on doing that obviously) and the changes you make during the season.

Very interesting so far. I'll be looking forward to your analysis of matches (if you're planning on doing that obviously) and the changes you make during the season.

Aye I've wrote a few up already

I haven't posted on this forum for a long time, mainly because I'm a Man City fan and used to solely play with them. Since the sheikh came in however, it made it far too easy and so slightly ruined my enjoyment of the game (I like to build teams up rather than start at the top). However, I've returned to FM12 and am finding it very enjoyable.

Anyway, I've read a few of your threads before Cleon and you play the game in a very similar way to me and this thread has the potential to be one of the most helpful to people struggling with the game. I've always found in every format of FM that I have played, that a lot of it comes down to common sense and if people invest a bit of time watching the game and setting up their tactics in the right way for both how they want the team to play, and to a lesser extent the players at their disposal, they will always reap the benefits.

One thing that is new to me, though, is the idea of setting up preseason schedules. I have never done it personally and don't suffer from too many injuries over the course of the season apart from the odd ones to be expected. However, I can understand the reasoning behind it. I'm going to be very intrigued if it does make a difference over a couple of years, as part of me is wondering whether it will deliver any real benefits.

Watch a few of the games you've played back and see what the issue with Rooney is. You might find he's too deep, isolated or just not recieveing the ball. It's the best way of telling what's wrong

my assistant tells me that rooneys best position is target man with attack duty. could i change him to that or would it ruin the basis of the tactic itself???

Hi Cleon, sorry if this is a little off-topic, but I played one full season in the Brazilian Notional First Division, and after all 38 games, the average goals scored for the AI controled teams was at just 0,9 per game, that seems a little low to me. I won the league confortably with São Paulo, but it seemed to me that the AI tactics were always very very defensive. Have you experienced something similar?

my assistant tells me that rooneys best position is target man with attack duty. could i change him to that or would it ruin the basis of the tactic itself???

Nope you can do that

I haven't posted on this forum for a long time, mainly because I'm a Man City fan and used to solely play with them. Since the sheikh came in however, it made it far too easy and so slightly ruined my enjoyment of the game (I like to build teams up rather than start at the top). However, I've returned to FM12 and am finding it very enjoyable.

Anyway, I've read a few of your threads before Cleon and you play the game in a very similar way to me and this thread has the potential to be one of the most helpful to people struggling with the game. I've always found in every format of FM that I have played,

that a lot of it comes down to common sense and if people invest a bit of time watching the game and setting up their tactics in the right way for both how they want the team to play, and to a lesser extent the players at their disposal, they will always reap the benefits.

One thing that is new to me, though, is the idea of setting up preseason schedules. I have never done it personally and don't suffer from too many injuries over the course of the season apart from the odd ones to be expected. However, I can understand the reasoning behind it. I'm going to be very intrigued if it does make a difference over a couple of years, as part of me is wondering whether it will deliver any real benefits.

Hi Cleon, sorry if this is a little off-topic, but I played one full season in the Brazilian Notional First Division, and after all 38 games, the average goals scored for the AI controled teams was at just 0,9 per game, that seems a little low to me. I won the league confortably with São Paulo, but it seemed to me that the AI tactics were always very very defensive. Have you experienced something similar?

Indeed it is

Excellent! Does that mean that you'll be going into some detail about how you achieved that with the DLP? I'd definitely be interested in that. I've only recently started playing much of fm11 (having previously stuck with fm 10....so yeah, I'm a bit behind!) but I have really noticed playing as Arsenal that Fabregas struggles to get more than 40 passes in a game as advanced PM (designated playmaker). So if the ME of 12 is essentially the same as 11 I'd be keen to get some ideas on how to improve upon this. It might also help me decide between whether i have a 451/433, 4231 or 442/424 as my main tactic. Cheers.

Excellent! Does that mean that you'll be going into some detail about how you achieved that with the DLP? I'd definitely be interested in that. I've only recently started playing much of fm11 (having previously stuck with fm 10....so yeah, I'm a bit behind!) but I have really noticed playing as Arsenal that Fabregas struggles to get more than 40 passes in a game as advanced PM (designated playmaker). So if the ME of 12 is essentially the same as 11 I'd be keen to get some ideas on how to improve upon this. It might also help me decide between whether i have a 451/433, 4231 or 442/424 as my main tactic. Cheers.

Yeah I will be at some point but I've not had to use the 451/433 yet. I'll be discussing the strengths of the 442 today and tomorrow and looking at that in great detail and telling you how I set up to beat certain formations.

I will be talking about the tactic in great detail and look at how each position in the tactic works. But first I’m going to talk about something to help you understand why the tactic works. What I’m going to do next is talk about what I do when I face certain formations. I’ll show you how I adapt depending on what formation I might come across. As I’m playing in Brazil I thought it would make sense to start with the 4-2-2-2 that many of the clubs use. Remember I’m using the 4-4-2 that is posted further up the thread unless stated other wise J

The 4-2-2-2can be very hard to break down at times as it over powers the midfield if you have fewer midfielders than them.

Take a look at this screenshot;

Just by looking at the screenshot you should be able to see where the 4-4-2 might struggle against it. As the middle of the pitch is far too congested you need to go around them. Playing through the middle 9 times out of 10 simply wouldn’t work, even if you have a superior side. The middle is too packed and your players won’t find the space to break them down. So what I tend to do is go as wide as possible and use the exploit the wings shout. This means my players will focus the player down the wings where the 4-2-2-2 is exposed. Meaning I’m exploiting their weakness. Basically that is all I do and so far I’ve done really well against the 4-2-2-2 formations as you can see on the screenshot below;

I can only beat the opposition put in front of me. To do that I have to prepare and take advantages of other formations and exploit their weaknesses. Its just common sense really that it all comes down to. If you put the 4-4-2 on top of the4-2-2-2 formation then you’d see instant the difficulties and see where the game can be won or lost. 7 times I’ve faced it and scored 17 goals and conceded just the one. Not too bad going if you ask me, especially as the 4-2-2-2 is oneof the hardest formations to break down. Well in my opinion J

I was been lazy yesterday and forgot to prepare before a game as I was posting on here haha. Anyways when I went back to my game (I was playing in highlight mode) I realised I’d not prepared. I think 30 minutes game time had passed and I was getting over played by Paulista. I’d not even had a shot on goal and lookedl ike I couldn’t break them down. Which makes sense as the tactic I posted above(my 4-4-2), as focus passing set to mixed. So my players were still attempting to go through the middle at times which isn’t any good. Anyways, I changed things around and scored within a minute. My side never really looked back and I managed to win 0-4. Here are the highlights from the game;

[video=youtube;J6g-auCk-wU]

I'll be adding some more later today or tomorrow

I'll be adding some more later today or tomorrow

well done again, i shall be paying close attention to this thread as long as it is going!

having used your tactic for my 2nd season at man utd, i managed to win the league and fa cup without really setting the league alight with my football. yes hernandez won top scorer and young won most assists. it just appears that a little bit of magic is missing? i do seem to concede an awful lot of goals and a ridiculous amount of own goals. i seem to have cut down on the amount of set pieces conceded which is fantastic. cant seem to get rooney involved at all which is a shame as he is the star player

could i possibly play at a quicker tempo maybe?

could i play wider?

could i change the starting strategy (more fluid perhaps)?

or could i even change the tactic all together? if so what too?

well done again, i shall be paying close attention to this thread as long as it is going!

having used your tactic for my 2nd season at man utd, i managed to win the league and fa cup without really setting the league alight with my football. yes hernandez won top scorer and young won most assists. it just appears that a little bit of magic is missing? i do seem to concede an awful lot of goals and a ridiculous amount of own goals. i seem to have cut down on the amount of set pieces conceded which is fantastic. cant seem to get rooney involved at all which is a shame as he is the star player

could i possibly play at a quicker tempo maybe?

could i play wider?

could i change the starting strategy (more fluid perhaps)?

or could i even change the tactic all together? if so what too?

I don't have an issue with conceeding, I always have the best defence and best attack. Did you watch any games like I suggested above? I've never used Man Utd or the players so without seeing the visuals from whats happening in a game its kind of hard what to advise you on. It would just be guess work.

All the above info and any previous thread's I've done give you all the info on what to look out and try, you might want to read them. Especially this one http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/238682-The-Project-2012-(Updated-for-FM12)

I don't have an issue with conceeding, I always have the best defence and best attack. Did you watch any games like I suggested above? I've never used Man Utd or the players so without seeing the visuals from whats happening in a game its kind of hard what to advise you on. It would just be guess work.

All the above info and any previous thread's I've done give you all the info on what to look out and try, you might want to read them. Especially this one http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/238682-The-Project-2012-(Updated-for-FM12)

cheers for that im reading it with gusto right now!!

cheers for that im reading it with gusto right now!!

No worries

Very nice thread, Cleon. Nice detail on your pocess. Its nice to see others have a similar process they go through for the start of each new game...

Very nice read. Though I must say how awkard it is to see a brazilian side playing a flat 4-4-2. Neymar as a striker!!!! Oh the horror...

Now more seriously I can`t wait to see how you`ll continue this project.

Very nice read. Though I must say how awkard it is to see a brazilian side playing a flat 4-4-2. Neymar as a striker!!!! Oh the horror...

Now more seriously I can`t wait to see how you`ll continue this project.

Wait until you see me develop the formation into something a lot more interesting

Post 1 is exactly how I approach the game. After that we differ but hey thats footy. Normally I play a 442 with wingers which the game calls 424 for some daft reason. However I'm now using a 433 to surprisingly good effect.

Post 1 is exactly how I approach the game. After that we differ but hey thats footy. Normally I play a 442 with wingers which the game calls 424 for some daft reason. However I'm now using a 433 to surprisingly good effect.

Ohh I'm glad you posted, how effective are your wingers in the 424? How involved are they in terms of goals and assists?

Ohh I'm glad you posted, how effective are your wingers in the 424? How involved are they in terms of goals and assists?

I tried this with Sampdoria (Serie B/strongest team) in case you're interested:

Played 9 Won 9 For 23 Against 5

On the left Foggia got 2 goals and 5 assists in 8 games...he's left-footed so I've played him as a winger

On the right Semioli got 1 goal and no assists in 7 games...right-footed winger

I think Foggia takes many of the set pieces so maybe the results not worth much...I also get the keeper to distribute to the left-back so Foggia sees much more of the ball

I played 4 more games (3 wins-1 defeat) but the game crashed and I lost them

Mostly my opponents played 4-1-2-2-1 so playing direct/exploit the flanks seemed fine...I was generally happy with the formation in these games...but the odd game I came up against 4-4-2 I was unhappy with my set-up...I only even tried this because of difficulties with the squad I inherited and after this experience I wouldn't do it voluntarily.

I'm keenly waiting to see how you get on with it.

Cleon, for the first goal in that video, is that the ball winning mc or the advanced playmaker that makes the run past the DLF before laying on the assist to the winger?

I’m looking forward to more detail on the tactic, and in particular hearing about who you have set up as main playmaker (I’m assuming it’s the TQ unless you’ve switched it manually to the APM), as well as why you have chosen the TQ/DLF partnership rather than having only one ‘creative’ fwd and one playing off the shoulder.

Cleon, for the first goal in that video, is that the ball winning mc or the advanced playmaker that makes the run past the DLF before laying on the assist to the winger?

I’m looking forward to more detail on the tactic, and in particular hearing about who you have set up as main playmaker (I’m assuming it’s the TQ unless you’ve switched it manually to the APM), as well as why you have chosen the TQ/DLF partnership rather than having only one ‘creative’ fwd and one playing off the shoulder.

That was the ball winning midfielder

very interesting read Cleon. Some great tips. Just a question your playing a flat 4-4-2 how would you set up to exploit that, I can easily see weaknesses against other formations (like the 4-2-2-2 you described) but 4-4-2 just can't seem to exploit them. Im ashamed of myself I know playing in the prem you do face it quite often as well.

very interesting read Cleon. Some great tips. Just a question your playing a flat 4-4-2 how would you set up to exploit that, I can easily see weaknesses against other formations (like the 4-2-2-2 you described) but 4-4-2 just can't seem to exploit them. Im ashamed of myself I know playing in the prem you do face it quite often as well.

I'll be getting around to the 442 next