How to create a solid attacking and defensive 4-1-2-2-1 with the Magpies.

I'm currently playing with Newcastle United and I'm having problems with creating a good 4-1-2-2-1.

I'm doing ok but most of the times its the enemy teams who are making huge mistakes(own goals, bad passing etc)which causes me to win. Team is also being a bit inconsistent. Winning from Man. Utd and Tottenham and then lose to Crystal Palace...

This is the tactic I'm currently running.

http://postimg.org/image/vcwky515l/

Only PI is Sit narrower for my right IF and distribute to defenders for the keeper.

My problems are that the team isn't creating enough good chances. Most of the times all chances are just ruined by my F9 Anthony Knockaert. He is just doing terrible despite being my most expensive buy. He either shoots from very far(despite having teammates to pass on)and misses very hard or he misses the CCC.

http://postimg.org/image/mxi1dm8tp/

He is just very average and missed a lot of CCC for me. I know he is a F9 but even Colo and Sissokko(4x more goals then him)are scoring more then him.

Same goes for Ben arfa, been very avg despite being my best player.

http://postimg.org/image/xt8yplcsv/

My Tom Ince has scored so much more then him despite only subsituting Ben Arfa once in a while.

http://postimg.org/image/rzx66h09x/c94249fe/

My fixture list: http://postimg.org/image/lvjtcbiwd/

As you can see I'm doing ok so far, but I won a lot of games thanks to mistakes of the enemy defenders or own goals and penalties. Close 1-0's and draws against Liverpool, Man City, Chelsea and Arsenal were lucky too. They are doing really bad in my save. City is 10th and Liverpool somewhere in Reglation zone.

I would love to see an answer on this one as I'm having exactly same problems with 41221. Despite being first in l2 a lot of my wins are just based on luck and we are playing really horrible football. Personally I feel that IF's are broken they always stay to deep(and play higher instruction don't work), they only make off the ball movement when perfect through ball is played which happens quite rarely, sometimes they will just stand for the whole action in one place without exploating gaps in defence, most of the time they act like creators not scorers. I have used pretty much same roles as you but after few testing saves it appears that wingers are much better(play them with opposite foot to their flank, that makes them cut naturally)

It's a really difficult formation to get right. I'd love to use it regularly and whilst I defend pretty well with it creating and scoring is a problem. I have Carroll, Crouch and Lambert as my strikers and in my mind I have balls either to feet or head of my lone striker and either passes or flick on's to the running wide men. As you say though IF's, wingers, roam, stay in position, wide, narrow, I just can't get them to run close to and beyond my striker.

That's why I'm here. This is my 3rd save already on Newcastle. So how do you play? With a winger and an IF?

I changed some things and my F9 to and a treq. My game against Liverpool was lost so hard. Couldn't create enough chances despite Liverpool being very bad(16th?!) And with poor moral.

That's my current setup.

http://imageshack.com/a/img855/3152/a9u1.jpg

Shooting stats from last match against another 41221.

http://imageshack.com/a/img541/1701/ekuk.jpg

Winger is a must when using IF - he gives additional width and stretch oppsition defense. Anyway for that match I have used IF but I'm constantly switching roles and checking what works better. Also I cannot decide what role my CM/s should be, sometimes I'm using BWM, sometimes B2BM and AP.

Are Newcastle good enough to use Control, and then Push Higher Up and Hassle Opponents?

There is potentially a loss of shape in your side by being Fluid, Hassling and Roaming From Position.

Do you have clear reasons behind using those three specific instructions?

When you play lesser sides like Palace, do you change anything?

I'm getting some good results with Newcastle on this formation. I use control-rigid. Much higher tempo, hassle, get stuck in, push higher up, run at defence, pass into space. The DM is playing as half back. The 2 full backs are playing as complete wing backs attack, MCR is deep lying playmaker defend, MCL is attacking playmaker support. 2 IF's with roam from position and the striker as complete forward support

Are Newcastle good enough to use Control, and then Push Higher Up and Hassle Opponents?

There is potentially a loss of shape in your side by being Fluid, Hassling and Roaming From Position.

Do you have clear reasons behind using those three specific instructions?

When you play lesser sides like Palace, do you change anything?

I'm not sure. Newcastle has good passing and work rate(2nd best) so I assume they can control the game and hassle opponents long enough. I use roam from position because I have pass into space. I red somewhere that they combine good together. Players roam to better position so that they can receive a through ball. I also push higher up because I want to to reduce the amount of space enemy teams get so I can win the ball back.

I don't change anything against lesser sides.

I have played few more matches with swiching IF's to Wingers and vice versa. Check those screens and decide what to think about it.

Here are average positions for my winger and if.

Chambers who played that match as IF

http://imageshack.com/a/img197/3195/tcur.jpg

Puri who was my winger.

http://imageshack.com/a/img706/8417/u72x.jpg

As you see their average positions are very similar, but winger is more involved into defense. Now check their shooting form that game :

Chambers

http://imageshack.com/a/img198/8821/hdj4.jpg

Puri

http://imageshack.com/a/img856/8720/ohab.jpg

For the next matches I decided to switch Chambers from IF to Winger.

http://imageshack.com/a/img850/8937/bc9e.jpg

His shooting from one of those games

http://imageshack.com/a/img89/2255/zkwf.jpg

Due Puri's injury I had to use Carson on right side also as winger but he performed badly - check the screen and see his pm and you will know why.

http://imageshack.com/a/img69/8185/xg61.jpg

Ok, now few screens from last match. Chambers again as IF and Karl Sheppard winger.

Chmabers shooting

http://imageshack.com/a/img691/7616/yyf4.jpg

Sheppards

http://imageshack.com/a/img39/8948/8r0d.jpg

Maybe it's just me but it's really pointless to use IF's or more it's pointless to use any player on wing that cuts inside or even have cuts inside pm.

http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/275877-The-Barcelona-Style-My-Interpretation?p=9419771#post9419771

This is the set-up I've been developing with Newcastle over the years, and currently in my second season on FM14 I'm challenging for the title and in the semi-finals of the Europa League. This is with almost exclusively the default squad, the only players I've bought and put into the first team are used as backup for Krul, Debuchy and Ben Arfa.

I managed a bit of success on my Newcastle save, winning the Premier League, FA Cup and two Europa Leagues

Played like this:

Team Instructions:

Shorter Passing, Hassle Opponents, Stay on Feet, Retain Possession, Work Ball into Box, Push Higher Up, Run at Defense and Allow Wide Players to Swap. Played Controlled and Balanced at home, Counter and Balanced away. Removed Push higher up away from home and brought the AP(A) back into the CM strata.

Player Instructions:

GK - Pass Short, Distribute to Defenders

WB - Stay Wider

Just realized this post was actually quite pointless as all of this completely stopped working once the patch of horror came out but maybe it will be of use.

Cisse as target man? Interesting. Looks like you play a 4-2-3-1. Inspired me to look for a 4-2-3-1 tactic and drop the 4-1-2-2-1. Seems like its just too difficult for me.

http://www.footballmanagerstory.com/best-fm-2014-tactics-darrens-dynamic-4-2-3-1/

I don't often download tactics, but maybe for this time. Does this look good to anyone?

Something similar to the shape I'm using with Newcastle:

Cisse as target man? Interesting. Looks like you play a 4-2-3-1. Inspired me to look for a 4-2-3-1 tactic and drop the 4-1-2-2-1. Seems like its just too difficult for me.

http://www.footballmanagerstory.com/best-fm-2014-tactics-darrens-dynamic-4-2-3-1/

I don't often download tactics, but maybe for this time. Does this look good to anyone?

Yeah he was OK there, got 18 goals in the first season but tailed off after that. Ben Arfa, the left winger an Sissoko scored a lot if goals.

Uhm is Cissé even scoring for you guys? He had 5 CCC in one game agaisnt Spurs and scored one... Which was really easy. Im 16th ATM and pretty much wanna quit this game. I can create chances but never score... Only out of set pieces and penalties sometimes. Conceding a lot from corners too.

Uhm is Cissé even scoring for you guys? He had 5 CCC in one game agaisnt Spurs and scored one... Which was really easy. Im 16th ATM and pretty much wanna quit this game. I can create chances but never score... Only out of set pieces and penalties sometimes. Conceding a lot from corners too.

Cisse has about 15 from probably 30 appearances for me. Somewhere around the 1-in-2 mark, I think. I play him as AF even in formations where this makes him ridiculously isolated. He is often operating at 6.1 before scoring from very little and jumping up to 7.x. He's my top scorer and one of my best players. He seems to rely on confidence (like in real life) so I try to keep him around Good morale or above.

Ok so I played another horrible game with this tactic: http://www.footballmanagerstory.com/best-fm-2014-tactics-darrens-dynamic-4-2-3-1/ (full fluid btw)and I lost 1-3 to Norwich. My players scored thanks to a mistake from Norwich and missed 2 clear cut chances. Evena Norwich player with 8 finishing managed to score a goal!!! I mean how ridiculous is this. I don't blame the game but how is this guy scoring when my Cissé(17 finishing)missed 6-7 CCC this season. And then I played a game against MUFC and lost 0-2. We played much better then MUFC and got 3 CCC. Still missed all and MUFC got like 2 good chances and scored both. They already scored in the first minute! And guess what Cissé missed yet another CCC . He is just so bad in my game. Now I'm sacked. Once again I don't blame the game but its just so annoying sometimes. Also how I upload PKM's? Is there anyone who can help me? I believe this tactic does work, a lot of users reported it to work and was also tested on fm base. Im doing fine with it but its just I can't score at all.