Causeforconcern's 3-5-2

I recently started a thread in the Tactics & Training Discussion forum on the struggle of getting a target man functioning how I'd like one to. Rather than rehash everything you can read that thread here: http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/386627-Target-Man

Anyway, through a bit of research, a bit of tinkering and a bit of luck I think I managed to stumble onto a pretty effective 3-5-2 where the target man is a vital cog in the engine and is arguably the focal point of the team.

The Shape

Pros & Cons

+ Obviously the most vital thing are the results and this tactic has exceeded my expectations by far. In my first season I was expected to to finish 14th (out of 18) and ended up coming 3rd only behind powerhouses Bayern and Dortmund- all with a net spend of 500k.

+ Aesthetically this is one of the nicest looking tactics I've seen. Lots of fantastic one touch passing around the box, through balls, flicks and great goals.

+ Next to no tinkering. Once I'm happy with a tactic I like to sit back and let it do its thing. So no changing shape or instructions for different teams and I let my assistant manager do all opposition instructions.

+ Not reliant on top tier players, exploits, or set pieces.

+ A strike partnership that works. My target man ended up on 18 goals and 14 assists whilst my poacher finished up with 29 goals from 37 games.

- Defensively we can be caught out wide. This is probably fairly obvious given the shape but surprisingly it happens less often than you think. I attribute a lot of my early season losses to the team not being used to the tactic as the second half was a vast improvement.

- You will concede a fair few due to the attacking nature of the tactic. While my back three are by no means bad this could maybe be rectified by having better quality players here.

The Results

Download

http://www.mediafire.com/download/k5n9lq345e5vd9a/Causeforconcern_3-5-2.tac

The Players

While you won't require world class talent it does help to have the right sort of player in the right positions. While there is certainly room for this tactic to evolve and improve I'll go over what has worked for me so far.

THE DEFENCE

The original goal of the tactic was to get a target man functioning and my theory was that a target man functions best with a strike partner and wingers to whip crosses in. This would usually lead to us playing a pretty boring 4-4-2 but I wanted to utilise what I think is the best new player role in the game; the halfback.

Goalkeeper (defend)

Nothing special required here. If you have the right player for it consider playing a sweeper keeper as you do play with a high defensive line.

Centre Backs (defend)

Due to the half back dropping deep into the defensive line these guys will end up pushing out wide frequently, especially when you have the ball. Because of this it's recommended that these guys have a bit of pace as they're sometimes more full back than centre back. They're also going to be in possession of the football a lot so being able to actually pass would be a nice added bonus.

Ball Playing Defender (cover)

The BPD will sit a bit deeper than his defensive partners and look to intercept the ball before playing incisive passes from the back. He's also going to be in a lot of aerial battles so good heading and jumping ability combined with passing skills is a must. I have Matthias Ginter here who is probably my best player (and certainly my most promising).

Half Back (defend)

The half back's role is to join the back line when the opposition has the ball and push into midfield when your team has possession. I use Gelson Fernandes here who is just your decent run-of-the-mill defensive midfielder; decent physicals and high mental attributes. While he will be in possession a fair bit he's not going to be doing anything extravagant so don't prioritize technical ability.

THE MIDFIELD

The midfield consists of one playmaker, one midfielder pushing up to support the strikers and two very hard working defensive wingers.

Deep Lying Playmaker (support)

An important player in the team as will be in possession more than any other player. He's going to need to be capable of playing a expansive passing game as well as keeping it short. Defensive skills are a huge bonus too. I don't have the talent or the funds to play with the ideal player here but my DLP has solid attributes in passing, decisions, teamwork and workrate.

Centre Midfield (attack)

Originally I had used a box-to-box midfielder here but he wasn't quite getting forward enough for my liking but even with the attack duty selected I still feel like he could feed of the target man better. This is the one position that I feel can be modified depending on your playing staff.

Defensive Wingers (support)

While it has 'defensive' in their job title they are far more attack minded than defence minded. After your strikers they'll most likely be your highest scoring players and will lead the charts in assists. They'll also be leading the charts in distance covered as these guys are practically covering an entire side of the pitch to themselves. What we want here are physically gifted players with a huge workrate and the ability to put the ball in the net should the chance arise. I actually have two very limited players here so I imagine with the right player these guys could cause havoc.

THE ATTACK

This, for me, is where the tactic truly shines. The front two have entirely different skill sets that when combined will cause huge headaches for the opposition.

Target Man (support)

The most important player on the pitch. Your target man will be your goal scorer, your playmaker and your biggest threat on set pieces. I use Mike Hanke here who isn't exceptional at all but has exactly what I was looking for in a target man; excellent mental attributes and preferred moves to go along with his ability in the air.

Poacher (attack)

Will most likely be your top goalscorer. Your poacher will be consistently played in by your target man so is going to need good finishing and good pace to take advantage of that. I picked up Alan from Red Bull Salzburg and while he's not anywhere near exceptional he has managed to score a truck load of goals in his first season for us.

will take alook at my non league save and post results back later

From your previous thread:

How has the tactic developed? I am interested to see where the TM ends up as I want to try one out but have never been able to get the tactic working well

The target man actually is fairly disciplined which is a nice change from him drifting too wide like he's done on other version of the game. I think having a strike partner and wingers combined with the rigid setting has him staying as central as you'd want him to.

Have a look in the match engine and I think you'll be impressed how functional he is in the tactic.

Going to give this a go in alternative game I'm going to run alongside my longterm save.

Think I'm going to go with my own team, Colchester, in League One - just one question, does the Targetman need to be quick? My funds will be limited and this is the one area I reckon I'll need to recruit for. Most of the rest of the roles I think I'll have players pretty well suited for.

There is no position that being quick wouldn't be a bonus but I think you'll be fine with a slow target man. I trialled this tactic with Preston North End and Kevin Davies was fantastic for me despite him being old and slow.

I've been trying some new things out pre season and decided to push the central midfield (attack) up into the attacking midfield position directly behind my target man and set him to the shadow striker role. Absolutely annihilated two decent teams with it. Definitely wouldn't consider it against superior opposition but it's a good option against teams that are hard to break down.

I'm desperately trying to sign Lewis Holtby for my Freiburg side but players have outrageous demands in this version huh?

Trying it out with an even weaker team and the tactic still looks great. Not even near being fluid in it yet either!

Giving this a run now. I've only got one TM so will be cycling tactics but it did well first up with a 6-0 win. Looking forward to using TM's again

Who are you playing as? I've given it a go in Spain and in Div. One in England but struggled for consistency.

Everton but I am into 2018 so not much of the original team remain

didiu use oi? trining and match prep? tank's

I've only got one real TM so I am using a F9 when the TM is not available. Seems to work all right

I let my assistant manager to do all opposition instructions.

Training is balanced and match preparation is set to tactics until fluid then defensive positioning.

Have you tried using a WTM on one of the flanks? I am going to try it to change things up a bit. Probably the RW due to the TM being on the left side

Wow, I'm having some real issues now. I'm in 2019 and I am letting in goals from every side. I need to change things up.

First is an easy change. I've swapped the CMa for an APa as I think this may help open up defences a bit more. No changes to PI but I may drop off the Close Down More if he isn't getting space with the ball.

Next is the defenders. I think the Mark Tighter instruction is letting the opposition play around them. I'm going to try Close Down More. Also, I am moving to Limited Defenders for the wider of two. My next step from here is to make them stoppers and remove the Close Down More if I am not happy with that.

Will report back my findings

Hah! I did the exact same thing with my central midfielder. Changed to an advanced playmaker and had him roaming...he was far more effective. Also changed the other central mid to a ball winning midfielder too.

Who are you using as your target man?

Using the bloke above at the TM.

Haven't finished the season yet but I feel the outside two on stopper duties works better. This of course needs to be coupled with removing the offside trap.

I've tried a few things. I quite like removing 'be more disciplined' and add 'stick to position'. Also have tried direct passing. This works well against some formations.

I've also changed the poacher to an AF. With good striker I think I needed more movement to create space.

Ultimately, I feel the formation lacks creativity in the initial post. I'm going to test out playing with fluid and very fluid as well.

Care to post what you are using now?

How is this tactic working for some of you, or testers?

It's an interesting TM/P 2 strikers with DW and HB, 3 DC combo.

How's the corner defending and attacking like?

I assume the P has to be scoring loads as this tactic can be caught by IF wide easily.

I changed the poacher to an AF and he scored 42 goals in the EPL. TM got 7 with 7 assists. Previous season he got 16 goals and 6 assists.

I've changed the corner routine a bit so won't comment on that.

DW's work well. I am pretty much just using regular wingers rather than bastardised full backs. For example, Tom Ince was one of my wingers. Sometimes I have changed a winger to a APs to change things up. This works as well but I prefer the DW's at the moment.

HB plays a bit like a DLP but drops deep. This helps cover the 3 DC's but I changed the two outside DC's to stoppers to nullify attacks a bit higher up the ground.

Care to post what you are using now?

I abandoned this shape after struggling with it in leagues other than the Bundesliga. I think a lot of my success also came down to having the perfect target man in Hanke as I wasn't able to replicate it elsewhere.

I'm about to post my new tactic which has been absolutely phenomenal. It's a 2-3-2-1-2 (or 4-4-2) with wingbacks and a halfback which dominates possession and is high scoring. I don't use a target man but if the right player comes on the market I might try combine the two tactics as I think it could be hugely effective.