Orphaned by Reus - Settling a tactic for 2012/2013 Gladbach

I've never really enjoyed or, for that matter, understood a tactical side of Football Manager. Everything I've managed to achieve in my careers was based on good transfers, good scouting network and experimenting blindly with the tactic, up to the point when team starts playing (for no apparent reason, as far as I could tell ). Over the time, I grew bored and exhausted of this style of playing and decided to take a deeper interest in tactical side of the game (meaning both FM and football). I must say I find it more and more interesting (to the point where I bought "Inverting the pyramid"), but since I've got next to zero experience, I struggle with making good decisions (or any decisions) and I've decided that instead of trying to learn solely on my mistakes (what could be a really painful process, since I'm yet to develop analysis skill of any kind) I would share my thoughts and concerns here and hopefully get some insight and an opportunity to discuss it. Early on, I want to apologize for my language skills. I'm constantly working on them

The described career is stored on my friend's pc (we are playing online, with him working at Hoffenheim) and I don't have an access to it now, to make all the screens, so they are from a fresh save.

This is not a team management thread, though it may seem like one if you skim it over. If it's still in the wrong place, I'm deeply sorry and I hope I won't face fatal consequences.

Team

As the title states, I'm working for Borussia Monchengladbach and I'm using a squad update released after the recent transfer window. Despite the last season's fantastic performance, I think it is a fairly mediocre team in a really strong and offensive minded league. Therefore, I'm not really keen to risk an offensive style of play, and I'd much rather play solid defensive football, hopefully backed up with deadly counterattacks.

Squad analysis

Next to every guide, thread or article on choosing the team tactics, that I've read, strongly advised choosing the way the team should play based on its players, their strong and weak sides. Quite obviously I've tried to do exactly that.

Starting from the back, ter Stegen is a brilliant goalkeeper and selling or replacing him seems like a terrible idea. With his skills I think it would be waste not to give him more freedom and responsibility, which comes with a role of a sweeper keeper.

My defense looks pretty solid, with 2 good players for both sides and great Dominguez, alongside experienced Stranzl, in the middle. Keeping in mind Stranzl unimpressive pace, I still think it is a decent formation of my team and there is no reason to avoid classic 4 men defense.

Looking over my central mids I've noticed just about all of them have a decent (or more than decent) defensive abilities. I saw an opportunity for this defensive edge I was looking for and, alongside with signing Tomas Rincon, an anchor man unwanted in HSV, I've decided to go for a formation with two DMs.

With 4 spots left on the pitch, I've looked at my offensive players and couldn't help feeling puzzled. By descending ability rating I've got: Juan Arango (4 stars), Luuk de Jong, Igor de Camargo, Mike Hanke (all 3.5 star) and Peniel Mlapa with Patrick Herrmann rated 3 stars (as far as I remember, better assistant, that I had hired, gave slightly better rating to de Camarago and Hanke than to de Jong and considerd Mlapa worse than Herrmann). I excluded Mlapa from that group, because, talented as he is, his current finishing isn't great and as a right winger he is similar, yet worse than Herrmann. Still I've got 3 great forwards, but not a single fast one. Therefore, even though I wanted to find a place in a middle for Arango, none of the strikers looks a like a good inside forward, and

Juan is still quite fast, so I decided to keep him on a left wing, with Herrmann taking opposite side, since I'm counting on his tremendous speed in my counterattacks. I've also managed to find pretty even contender for Herrmann spot on a pitch, Hobbit (I know!) Bermudez. Luuk de Jong was left as the person best suited for AM position and role of Trequartista seemed to me like the best choice. The lone striker spot I've decided to set as advanced forward, because I felt like I have too few attacking minded players and first squad choice between de Camargo and Hanke would be decided by preseason performance.

Tactics

So that's the tactics I ended up with (the DMR spot is taken by Rincon, Xhaka was replaced in friendlies by Nordtveit as he is not yet capable of playing DM, but I want him to in the future) :

Fluid philosophy - because I didn't want to split the team even more

Standard mentality - as a good starting point for possibly most of the games

More direct passes - to ensure that the passes will reach front 4

More expressive freedom - to let the well tempered front 4 do their magic

Zonal marking - because I though that with a lot of man back, defensive zone should be hard to break into

Float crosses - because both my AF are strong and good in air

Counter attacks - because that was a plan

Preseason

I've established the tactic early on and instructed team to work on it very hard, with a focus on defensive positioning, since it seemed vital with a zonal defense and quite defensive tactic itself. I've played first friendly with Alemannia Aachen (third league, however it is called) and it went fairly disappointing. Although the 1-1 draw was lucky for my opponents, I've only managed to create 2 clear cut chances (even though I went offensive quite early) and my defense seemed shaky (even giving an easy clear cut chance to opponents, not on counter attack). Next came a friendly with West Ham and however I could easily get by 1-3 score, the match was terrifying. With fairly low amount of shot (9 if I'm not mistaken) West Ham had 7 clear chances. My team, on the other hand, scraped only a few lousy shots and the lone goal came from a free kick cross. I've played that match with, afair, exact strategy as shown on a screen above, with shouts to play narrower and focus passing on wings (with West Ham playing 4-2-3-1 with two CMs).

Thoughts

My concern (and the reason for this thread to exist) is that I apparently don't have anything right. Despite my best intentions to find tactic suiting my team, and a defensively solid one, I've got a problem with both defense and offense. I've got about a month to the league start and a handful of ideas, from which I can't test all, for obvious reasons, and I'm not even sure if any of them makes any sense. I guess I could:

- Sell both de Camargo and Hanke and go for a good poacher. I think it's the player easily employed in a game and could be what this tactic needs to become more effective in offense.

- Move Arango to the center and play de Jong as an inside forward on the wing. That way Arango would hopefully be more involved in a game and de Jong would have more space for making his way into the penalty zone.

- Switch formation to deep 4-4-2 (with two DMs, wingers brought one point back and two attackers, lets say TM de Camargo/Hanke and AF de Jong). It worries me though, if I could execute this formation not to be extremely defensive and lack goals.

So, as you hopefully can see, I'm not looking for someone to do my job for me and I'm doing my best to fix things myself. Yet, I find it really hard at my current state of tactical knowledge and analysis skills and I would be extremely grateful and happy to hear thoughts of more experienced players and be able to discuss them. Thanks in advance and again sorry for my English skills.

How far are you in to pre-season? One issue could be that your players aren't familiar with the tactic that you're trying to use.

I'm not an expert either on tactics, but here are a couple things I think could be damaging the offensive side of your tactic. You're looking to play a direct game (through your passing), and you're using players that traditionally would fit a shorter passing game (e.g. Trequarista). I would perhaps set up with Hanke playing a Target Man with a support duty as he is very strong in the air. De Jong playing as an Attacking Midfielder looking to feed off from Hanke's knockdowns and even looking to run beyond your target man. Arango playing as a Left Winger, great technique and crossing will work great again with your Target Man. Same with Hermann on the right hand side, but some training focus on his crossing to help him improve in that area of his game.

You describe the team yourself as 'mediocre'. I would therefore reduce creative freedom to default, this way you know the players will stick to your system and not try something stupid.

I may not be anywhere near to solving your problems, but I hope this has helped in some way .

P.S. Your English makes perfect sense, my friend.

How far are you in to pre-season? One issue could be that your players aren't familiar with the tactic that you're trying to use.

About a month in. Yeah, I guess it can explain offensive indolence, but since I have "Defensive positioning" as a main area of focus all the time, the amount of defensive mistakes is really disconcerting.

De Jong [...] even looking to run beyond your target man.

I actually wanted to achieve that from the start. Well, maybe not running beyond Hanke, since he was AF, but running into the defensive line to get to a through ball. I thought that the trequarista role is the most likely to do that from all the roles available for AMC postion, but now that you mention it, I didn't see him do it at all. I'll surely try AM role and look at the results. As for the rest of your advices, they sound really reasonable. Thanks for them.

You describe the team yourself as 'mediocre'. I would therefore reduce creative freedom to default, this way you know the players will stick to your system and not try something stupid.

Well they surely are great players, but the league is even better Media predicts us to finish 11th, so mediocre sounds like a pretty fair opinion. On the other hand, I saw quite a lot of Creativity and Flair in the team and thats the reason why I went for more freedom. There's no harm in trying to limit it a bit though, so I'll probably try it.

I may not be anywhere near to solving your problems, but I hope this has helped in some way

It gave me much to think about, so yeah, it helped a lot. The thing is, there is no fire to put out yet, since it's only a preseason and I don't have to find perfect solution this instant. Therefore, there is not much risk in trying just about anything and even if your insight isn't spot on (and it might as well be, who knows) there will be a lesson to learn from trying it. Let's hope I'll be able to notice that lesson

P.S. Your English makes perfect sense, my friend.

Well, thank you very much for saying this I've recently started to read more and more books in English and it made me notice just how, lets say, clumsy my writing was (not to mention punctuation) and since my opening post is a long one, I was afraid it may be tiring to read. Glad it isn't.

First up, your English is great, so no problems there!

I'm loathe to give specific tactics advice because each team is different, and tactics need to be adjusted according to players available and the opposition/conditions. But you are going the right way by putting the time and effort in to understand the match engine - it will increase your enjoyment of the game tenfold.

I'll try and give some general advice though... First up, I wouldn't worry too much about pre-season friendlies, they often don't tell you anything at all. The most important thing is to get your team comfortable with your chosen tactic/s. Apart from friendlies, the way to do this is to set Match Preparation to Very High and the focus to Teamwork (this builds understanding between the players, makes the play as a team. The specific focuses, i.e. defensive positioning, are best used a few days before a game to get the bonus. There are a few threads around explaining the effects, check them out).

Second is to not change the settings too much from standard (to start with anyway, until you understand the ME better and want to tweak how your team plays), and from that perspective you look like you're on the right track, so kudos. I personally would probably set passing to standard (the slider only allows or limits length of passes as I understand it, not encourages long balls forward. In saying that, if a long ball is on, your player will still play it - depending on attributes and other settings, i.e. mentality). Also maybe lower creative freedom if you find your players are giving away posession too much, or making silly mistakes. Apart from that, the 4-2-3-1 is a popular formation for a reason, it's defensively solid whilst providing good attacking options if used correctly. The main thing is to watch full-matches (or at least part of them... Cleon suggests the first 15mins to see how your tactic is playing, check out her mega-thread).

Apart from that I don't think you're doing anything drastically wrong. Watch some matches and if you notice any glaring errors try and make a logical change or post here and we can help you out.

Oh, and your team looks pretty good... a solid backline and some quality big forwards. Personally I think Xhaka is wasted as a DLP, his Positioning and Marking are too low and means you may be defensively frail at times (the box made up of your 2 CD's and 2 DM's is the foundation of this formation). I think with a bit of work he will be a beast of a playmaker (AMC type role), with his passing, technique, first touch, flair/creativity, decision making and composure. Off the ball could do with a boost, but with years of development ahead of him he should turn into a quality player. I'd also say de Jong isn't quite up to a playmaker role yet, Arango seems to be your best (Edit: just noticed you raised this point) and may be wasted out on the wing, especially as with his age his physical stats will begin to decline soon. Maybe better to use him sitting in the hole spraying passes to your 3 forwards/FB's (should have great stats for this), although I guess it depends if you have a replacement at AML.

Wow, this turned into a massive post! Got a little carried away haha.

Edit: just reading the 'My Thoughts' section, and with Targetmen etc, you need to have players making runs past him toward goal (generally your two wide players + AMC on occasion). If you go for a poacher he stays high up and creates space for your AMC to move around in and play throughballs. Good to have the option of playing either style though, depending on opponent.

Apart from friendlies, the way to do this is to set Match Preparation to Very High and the focus to Teamwork (this builds understanding between the players, makes the play as a team. The specific focuses, i.e. defensive positioning, are best used a few days before a game to get the bonus. There are a few threads around explaining the effects, check them out).

Duly noted.

The main thing is to watch full-matches (or at least part of them... Cleon suggests the first 15mins to see how your tactic is playing, check out her mega-thread).

I'm doing just that. There is although slight difference between seeing and understanding Hopefully this will get easier.

Personally I think Xhaka is wasted as a DLP, his Positioning and Marking are too low and means you may be defensively frail at times (the box made up of your 2 CD's and 2 DM's is the foundation of this formation). I think with a bit of work he will be a beast of a playmaker (AMC type role), with his passing, technique, first touch, flair/creativity, decision making and composure. Off the ball could do with a boost, but with years of development ahead of him he should turn into a quality player.

According to my staff, he will get much better (he might even be the most talented player I've got). The thing is, I didn't quite see him fit for any of the offensive roles in the formation. He is way too slow to be a great winger and for an AMC position I thought his finishing will not do. My idea of a DLP, especially in matches with not so far superior sides (because then I'll probably go for Nordveit) was someone who will start an attack with somewhat risky, but precise pass, rather than simply giving away ball to someone from the front 4. With the attack in progress I want someone who will stand back, so the offensive player who, fails to spot any gap in defense, will pass back to him. Then again, with his great creativity and flair, he can find a great, probably long, passing opportunity. I must admit, I'm not really sure if it's the right role or position for player I described. It simply is what I wanted to accomplish.

I'd also say de Jong isn't quite up to a playmaker role yet.

I didn't really want him to be a playmaker and he'll probably never be one. I was shooting for someone who will either play a quick 1-2 pass, with either forward or one of the wingers, and score, make an attempt from the distance, or play a successful through ball to the forward or winger.

Wow, this turned into a massive post! Got a little carried away haha.

My thoughts exactly after finishing the opening one

Edit: just reading the 'My Thoughts' section, and with Targetmen etc, you need to have players making runs past him toward goal (generally your two wide players + AMC on occasion). If you go for a poacher he stays high up and creates space for your AMC to move around in and play throughballs. Good to have the option of playing either style though, depending on opponent.

In this case, I still need a poacher. Well, it seems like a good idea to get rid of one of the strong forwards and bring someone who will give me more options. I've also got an amazing prospect, Mlapa, but until his finishing improves he doesn't look like a first squad player.

I'm doing just that. There is although slight difference between seeing and understanding Hopefully this will get easier.

Then you're ahead of alot of people around here... watching the games is probably the best thing you can do! If you're not sure of what to look for have a look at the end of this thread, where Cleon goes through a match and what she looks for, and how to use the Analysis tab. Should help heaps. But if you're not sure about something just ask around

According to my staff, he will get much better (he might even be the most talented player I've got). The thing is, I didn't quite see him fit for any of the offensive roles in the formation. He is way too slow to be a great winger and for an AMC position I thought his finishing will not do. My idea of a DLP, especially in matches with not so far superior sides (because then I'll probably go for Nordveit) was someone who will start an attack with somewhat risky, but precise pass, rather than simply giving away ball to someone from the front 4. With the attack in progress I want someone who will stand back, so the offensive player who, fails to spot any gap in defense, will pass back to him. Then again, with his great creativity and flair, he can find a great, probably long, passing opportunity. I must admit, I'm not really sure if it's the right role or position for player I described. It simply is what I wanted to accomplish.

That's the great thing about FM, you can come up with a tactical vision/idea and test it out. So try him in the DLP role and see how he goes, try and tinker with the settings to get him performing how you want. Great thing about it is you can always change back.

I didn't really want him to be a playmaker and he'll probably never be one. I was shooting for someone who will either play a quick 1-2 pass, with either forward or one of the wingers, and score, make an attempt from the distance, or play a successful through ball to the forward or winger.

And again, it's great you have an idea about how you want to play. Watch a match and just focus on your AMC (great thing is you can replay over and over!), and see if he is playing how you want him to. If he's not, think about why that could be and then play around, experiment. You might be interested in reading this thread by SFraser about the playmaker in a 4-2-3-1 if you haven't already done so

As an explanation... i'm currently playing a 4-2-3-1, and my formation is based completely around my AMC, he is without doubt the most important player, in an attacking sense, in my team. I play a complete forward up front, who looks to drop back on occasion and provides a second creative outlet, but generally I look to have him sit on top of the defense and open up space for my AMC to play passes to my forward running wide players (AML/R and one Wingback (DL), plus my Forward). On occasion that I play a team that man marks my AMC, I switch to playing a Target Man up forward, who drops back and is therefore the sole creative outlet for my team. In this situation he needs players running past him to be effective, so I set the AMC to get forward more, and he is therefore less of a playmaker, and more of a goal scorer. Just hows how you can approach things differently - anything is possible!

My concern is that you are only creating one avenue of attack, which is through the TQ. He'll drop into the space in front of the DMs automatically and feed the AF and two Winger/Attacks. However, if he is having a bad game / being effectively marked, you won't have a second avenue of attack.

I'd do the following:

1: Override the playmaker and make it the DLP. That should result in your key ball player more time to play the ball and counter the TQ being specific marked.

2: Have different attack strategies on each flank. On one wing, look to have the winger drop a little deeper (support role) and the FB push up ahead of him (WB/Attack). On the other wing, keep it as is. You can choose a couple of different set ups:

• Option One: Use the side of the pitch you have the DLP on as the build up side, with the overlapping WB, dropping winger and TQ as multi-angled passing options. In contrast, the other side of the pitch remains more defensively stable at the back (Anchor and FB / Support) and a goal threat up front (Winger / Attack)
  
• Option Two: Use the DLP in a Defend Duty and use the second DMC in a Support Duty. That way the DMC is the PM and the defensive screen, which provides more cover for any WB / Attack moving ahead of him, while the Support DMC provides more of an attacking threat, while being covered by a deeper FB (maybe even on a Defend Duty).
  
• Option Three: Keep the DLP wing as is and hope he's able to ping dangerous TBs to the high winger and work out a combination that provides an alternate attacking threat on the other flank (i.e overlapping WB, dropping winger, cover DM)
  

For any of the above, the extra movement between the lines should work wonders.