[FM 15.1.4] 4-4-2 Regal Diamond - Dominate Possession - Short Fluid Passing Game

I've been playing this game since beta and have always tried to develop Van Gaal's 532 that he used in United's preseason. I've mostly used an attacking 442 dragging FC United up from Vanorama Conference North up until about League One, when I started to struggle as I faced tougher competition with Premier League experience players in their ranks. It just so happened that during this time, SI released 15.1.3 which dramatically reduced the effectiveness of crosses by beefing up fullback defending. This forced me to re-look at my diamond again so there was definitely a level of necessity involved. I was forced to try and outsmart the AI through tactics and in one particular game I had to change formation five times because the AI kept reacting to every goal scored on the pitch. The first 20 minutes or so is extremely important and will usually tell you if things are working out or not.

One of the biggest problems with playing such a narrow formation is, quite obviously, defending the flanks and tracking the AI wingers. I actually solved this problem during a 'eureka' moment watching United play I think it was against Hull. Once the tactic was set up correctly to close down the open spaces, I had the CMs run out wide and work together with the wing backs to double team the AI. The Regista is also one of the highlights of the tactic. I've had lots of fun with the Roaming Playmaker and Raumdeuter roles during beta, but I had yet to find an optimal tactic for the regista role which I never did for '14 either. The description said that the regista is an aggressive deep lying playmaker suitable for possession based tactics that press high up the pitch. That is exactly what he does on the pitch. The closest I can describe his role is Roy Keane. He is actually quite solid in defence, not as static as an Anchorman or Half-Back but so much more mobile. As long as your team is good enough to hold possession without constantly losing or misplacing a pass, the Regista pushes up and acts as the third midfielder and helps dominate the midfield.

This is the kid I use for the Regista role. Key attributes would be Anticipation, Positioning, Work Rate. ANd of course Determination is always important. There always seem to be an abundance of top quality midfielder regens every year so it shouldn't be too hard to find someone suitable. Physical attributes are not as important as Mental here, he doesn't need to chase down pacey strikers, he just needs to be in the right place at the right times.

Most important player roles, and their required attributes:

Wingback - Speed, Tackling, Passing and/or Crossing, Work Rate

Centerback - Speed, Anticipation, Positioning, Concentration

Regista - Positioning, Decisions, Work Rate, Passing

All midfielders - Passing, Work Rate, Anticipation, Creativity+Vision would be a bonus

Striker - Complete Forward attributes

Determination is universal. If you want to build a squad of champions, determination, professionalism and ambition are obviously important. But Determination is the most important because they will respond to you when you scream at their face after a bad performance.

I use KillerBee's set pieces from FM Base. It's the one with the short attacking corners, defending is the flat line of 5 or 6 set to mark zonally. I don't always score, but it's a nice little play that aims to either keep possession or swing in a cross from a bit closer than the corner flag. If you know what you are doing feel free to import your own set piece instructions.

If you are tired of scoring from crosses all the time then this might be for you. Most of the play is set to pass through the middle. The wingbacks do support the attack and offer width, and occasionally they will swing in a cross, but it usually gets headed away or headed down in the box where your midfielders will scramble for it along with the forwards. I tried a couple of midfield roles but I found Box to Box to be the best. They are all action midfielders, pressing aggressively to win possession and will drive up the pitch to support the attack. One of the biggest problems I had was players dwelling on the ball too much and I found out that was because they didn't have enough passing options. Having two box to box mf'ers solved the problem. The AM is set to link play by holding the ball and wait for teammates to rush up the pitch instead of rushing a pass. He is instructed to try risky passes in order to unlock defenses so needless to say you want someone here with an eye for a pass.

Another thing to keep in mind is that unless you are clear favorites, it's important to pay attention to the opposition tactics and what formation they are using. When you use the right formation you will notice it immediately as the AI attacks are nullified by your defenders and you dominate possession and create more chances. Often the media will hail you as a 'tactical genius' because of this.

STRONG AGAINST: 442, 4411, 424

DECENT AGAINST: 433, 451

STRUGGLE AGAINST: 4231, 532

When you come up against a tough tactic that you are struggling against, you have a few options. Lets say you go up against a 4231, switching to 433 is an effective change and you can either download a tactic someone made, or make the change yourself by adapting my tactic and dragging the AM and F9 out wide to AML/AMR, and adjust TI according to the situation on the pitch.

I don't really care about home/away, but if you are struggling away and AI is dominating possession keeping you in your own half, adjust the TI: remove Retain Possession, add Pass Into Space. When the AI pushes up they will leave some space behind and you should try and exploit this. I do not recommending touching the D-line but you can try dropping deeper if you think that will help soak up the pressure.

The mentality of the tactic is Standard because it already utilizes many TI's and individual PI's. This gives the players the freedom to adapt to the situation and so far I have found it to be quite effective, as it is not too leaky at the back despite pushing so high up.

Opposition Instructions are set by the coach/assman with the highest tactical knowledge, ideally 15+

This is how my training is set up. I only have two physios. No injury problems except for certain injury prone players who hurt themselves during a match by kicking a ball. Not many training injuries, despite our terrible pitch and basic training facilities. I always set my teams to play attractive attacking football, so I always set Defensive Positioning as match prep to give the back line a boost.

PRESEASON: Set focus to Fitness, Customized scheduling all the way to the left, uncheck the two rest boxes, Match Tactics preparation until Accomplished.

I am not a tactic maker. I just play the game, I try and implement my philosophy and I like to draw inspiration from the great tactic makers.

KillerBee - his set pieces, like literally, word for word

ChristianEriksen - probably the hottest tactician this year, obviously i tried his at one point so deserves a mention

MiNiMaL_FuSS and jazzar - their tactics from last year helped me build a solid foundation and a really great FM14 tactic.. unfortunately i never released it but i did carry on some of the philosophy to '15

- I started using this tactic in Sky Bet League One only sporadically, and then more often in the Championship

- While theoretically you can use it right away, I highly recommend either spending a preseason with it, or leave it as one of your 3 tactics until it's trained up

- Do not complain until you have it at least Fluid... otherwise criticism is encouraged

- Having the right players do matter, so if your best players are wingers, this might not be optimal for you

- Be patient and have faith in your team. Many times and especially against stronger opposition you will start the game getting dominated, but you will often score a goal or two and then start playing more comfortably

- You can retrain wingers or wide midfielders to CM as long as they have the right attributes

- Often times you may find yourself winning by a goal or two and the AI suddenly starts to dominate you towards the end, creating chance after chance. Depending on the situation there are several tweaks you can try. Against strong opposition who are passing rings around you, try changing to direct passing and pass into space, exploit the open space that they leave behind. If they made some subs and they are doing well (very often a striker sub comes on and scores a hat trick), try going into tactics screen and once again ask your best coach to set the OI's again and I found that he will usually recommend much harder tackling when we are winning.

- Everyone has their own preferences for match widgets, but you should pay attention to at least two things: your team's body language, and opposition formation. Closely monitor the former as nervous players are most likely to make mistakes, and you need to calm down frustrated players who are already booked. The latter is usually more important in the second half as the AI does change tactics rather aggressively in this year's game, so you need to stay on top of things at all times.

- Pitch size is smallest. I always wanted to emulate Arsenal's Invincibles passing style in Highbury

- Always keep at least two 'regular' tactics prepared, the AI is very good at adapting to your tactics if you use the same one regularly. I recommend either a 442 or 433 for balance

- Sometimes you may concede a soft goal from a stupid mistake, or certain players performing badly. Use your shouts. During one attempted comeback from the AI, my young 18yo centerback made a mistake and his rating dropped to 6.3, but he finished a solid 7.0 after I made some tweaks and shouted at him to concentrate harder in the last ten minutes. Sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't, but at least it's better than shouting at the screen.

Download (V1) - https://www.mediafire.com/?23se117azr36p7z

Download (V1.1) - https://www.mediafire.com/?e2yy5uwlkoroo91

Update - Tweaked the tactic for patch 15.2, since defending has been noticeably improved in the ME, the centerbacks no longer need to hold back and are allowed to aggressively challenge the strikers. Increased match tempo in order to create more chances.

Download (V1.2 beta) - TBA

Beta - Changed the formation to Louis Van Gaal-inspired 5-2-1-2. Still in testing but early signs look good; tactic is still only 'accomplished' and I'm destroying some teams in the PL by completely dominating them. This cannot be coincidence. Sorry for poor preview pic, player roles as follows: CF-DF, SS, CM-CM, WB-RGA-WB, CD-CD. If you are leading in a tight game and CPU makes changes in second half creating lots of killer balls slicing through your defence, I suggest dropping the Regista into the sweeper role as a Libero. This ensures that he pushes up when your team has the ball to help keep possession, but he will drop deep behind the centerbacks to sweep up those annoyingly effective through balls.

Update - The new version has been changed for the latest patch, please refer to my other post

(reserved)

- Always keep at least two 'regular' tactics prepared, the AI is very good at adapting to your tactics if you use the same one regularly. I recommend either a 442 or 433 for balance

Apologies in advance for keying in on one small part of your post (which by the way is an excellent read!).

This is something I have been trying to get a good feel for, but have not yet done so.

Do you;

A - have the other two tactics loaded and use them in-game if things are going wrong?

B - occasionally start with one of your other two tactics to catch your opponents off guard when they are expecting your usual narrow 442?

If B, what is usually your trigger for switching to a different tactic? And how long do you stay with it before reverting back to your narrow 442?

Do you;

A - have the other two tactics loaded and use them in-game if things are going wrong?

B - occasionally start with one of your other two tactics to catch your opponents off guard when they are expecting your usual narrow 442?

If B, what is usually your trigger for switching to a different tactic? And how long do you stay with it before reverting back to your narrow 442?

Both. I always have all 3 tactic slots used up with different formations. I used to go with a 442 in the lower leagues but found that it struggles against CPU 442 when they are slightly stronger (in Championship and PL), so I've had to rotate tactics. So I would say I used to be A, I have a "primary" go-to tactic that is pretty much plug and play for my team, but now because i'm starting to struggle, I am more B, sometimes i start with the diamond, sometimes I start with 433. My trigger for changing tactics or at least start making some major adjustments is usually....

- in the first 15-20 minutes, if things arent going to work out you will almost always get a glimpse of things to come right at the beginning of the match

- during the match, depending on context, the AI may make aggressive changes, and you may have to adapt. thats why i'm constantly checking the widgets to keep an eye on CPU formation, as well as subs (new fresh players who just got screamed at by an angry manager can make quite an impact!)

- if you have the time to watch at least comprehensive highlights, sometimes you can see the empty spaces left behind when the CPU attacks. take 442 for example, there are many variations, sometimes the CPU starts with a default 442 but switches to a more attacking one later in the game. you can try to exploit the space left by their fullbacks when they push up. this is also why sometimes you can easily beat a certain formation but then suffer against it the next time, because its a different team/players/manager/style.

Feel free to ask questions, because even if you dont download my tactic, hopefully there is something in the OP that might be of use to you

how you finding this on the new patch?

had a similar shape to the one in your beta picture but has fallen to pieces since