Simple Tactics for FM10...

[Loversleaper]

A new era has dawned upon us, we no longer have to go into detail about one thing or the other and in many ways it is a relief for many. Thankfully though the underlying mechanism is still intact so we can still make 'classic' tactics. I am under the impression that 'classic' tactics are still better than the pre-set options that the creator creates as we can still be more precise in our instructions.

So let's cut through all that boring stuff and go straight to the most important part: the tactics. I know that the creator offers 7 tactical options but personally I found 5 to be more than enough.

The Formations: they are all basically the same in shape. The AllOutAttack is a 4-3-3 and the defensive formation is a 4-1-4-1, the other 3 tactics are a 4-1-2-2-1. I have made them simple and can be used in any weather condition. They are all very basic and one could choose to implement more advanced roles for the players but personally I haven't felt/found it is nessassry. Leaving them as they are is adequate for them to do what it is required of them and this style of play offers a lot 'diversity'.

The Players: most of the players are on mixed instructions that contribute to the diversity. Goals and what not will be comming in from all angels and the mixed ideology (re: run from deep) holds the team more in position and not having them make tiring runs. Every team has the potential to be a new 'Real Madrid' so I advise people to go to the Good Player Forum and pick up some of the all important shortlists.

The Tactics: you just have to use the right tactic for the right occassion and you should be doing better than worse.

The 4-3-3_AllOutAttack: as it says on the 'tin', for those moments when you need to throw it all forward.

The 4-1-2-2-1_HomeAttack: for your home games.

The 4-1-2-2-1_AwayAttack: for those times where you are large favorite away from home. Also use this is if you are behind in a game and you have been using a lesser mentality tactic (later on in games). Also a good tactic for those games played on 'neutral' pitches.

The 4-1-2-2-1_Away: your normal away tactic.

The 4-1-4-1_Defensive: for those times where you need to play defensively.

Download link:http://www.mediafire.com/file/yjjimly0jzi/TestTactics.rar

[Kung]

how much have u tried it urself and whats ur results?

[Setsuna]

These tactics have been the best I've used so far on FM10.

Skimmed through a quick game with Everton for 20 matches or so and was 3rd in the league, qualified through the group stages of UEFA Cup winning ALL my matches (hardest match was a 3-2 victory away from home vs. HSV. Hammered them 3-1 in the return leg) and I was still in all English cup competitions.

I played pretty well against the "big four" with a narrow 1-0 defeat to Arsenal away from home, 1-0 win over Liverpool at home, 3-2 win over Chelsea at home and a narrow 2-1 defeat away from home. I can't remember the scores for the Man United match.

Struggled for home form for a bit. Portsmouth, Bolton, West Ham and Wigan all managed to hold me to 0-0 draws. I think this was mainly due to my Ass. Man giving crappy team talks and picking the wrong players sometimes.

I'll start a proper game with another team and see how the tactics perform.

EDIT: Haha, just noticed I said FM09. You can tell I've still not settled into 10!

[Kung]

These tactics have been the best I've used so far on FM09.

Skimmed through a quick game with Everton for 20 matches or so and was 3rd in the league, qualified through the group stages of UEFA Cup winning ALL my matches (hardest match was a 3-2 victory away from home vs. HSV. Hammered them 3-1 in the return leg) and I was still in all English cup competitions.

I played pretty well against the "big four" with a narrow 1-0 defeat to Arsenal away from home, 1-0 win over Liverpool at home, 3-2 win over Chelsea at home and a narrow 2-1 defeat away from home. I can't remember the scores for the Man United match.

Struggled for home form for a bit. Portsmouth, Bolton, West Ham and Wigan all managed to hold me to 0-0 draws. I think this was mainly due to my Ass. Man giving crappy team talks and picking the wrong players sometimes.

I'll start a proper game with another team and see how the tactics perform.

so that everton game was with fm10 and the patch?

[Setsuna]

so that everton game was with fm10 and the patch?

Yeah. I'd have taken some screenshots, but I didn't even save the game. I just loaded up the EPL on a small database, picked Everton and then set my tactics and went on holiday.

Example: All my friendly games were away, so I set the tactics to away and went on holiday. Then my first EPL match was at home to Wigan, so I set my tactics to home and went on holiday.

Did that for each match for 20 to 25 games and then quit since the tactics were doing well.

I'll now load up a proper database, make signings and not holiday through each match and see how I get on.

[barry from eastenders]

waste of time. struggles to break down defensive teams even with all out attack, far too inconsistent, easily neutralised by the AI (team mentality for many players)

[Loversleaper]

Okay Barry, you lost 2 games in the first 14 matches but don't you think it is a little premature to come to this conclusion so fast? Anyway I was hoping that you could send me a PKM of the Catania game, for study purposes (and maybe the Bayern M one?). Is that cool? It would be a big help. Thanks...

P.S. You have every right to critise, I was just hoping that you could show some screen shots of the match stats (post-match of course) where you felt that the tactics were easily neutralised by the AI. Thanks again...

[Justified]

Loversleaper, let me just start off by saying I've always enjoyed reading your threads on here as you seem to have a very clear idea of how you want to play the game. This time I decided just to take a little sneak peak at what you've come up with this year. I was surprised to see that you actually play very very similiar to how I play with Liverpool (apart from I play 4-2-3-1 at home). However there are maybe some tweaks you could look at that work very well for me.

Away from home I've found it useful to leave long shots on mixed only for the players that actually are capable of scoring from range whilst use more mixed approach at home due to most teams camping the bus infront of goal so I like players to have a pop from range and hope for deflections into the back of the net or corners.

Also I was surprised to see a) The wingers being on mixed fwrd runs b) playing very wide but not focusing play down the flanks? Could you tell me the reasoning behind this? It seems like you've set up the tactic well for wing play but you actually haven't told the players to get the ball down the flanks. I've always also found it handy to give the central midfielders hold up ball too so they can pick out the wingers.

Anyways would like to hear your thinking behind the tactic(s)

[Loversleaper]

Justified: these tactics were also used last season and I probably am going to remake the other formations from last year at one point in time. The 4-2-3-1 is actually working better than last year. The reason I play the way you described is because I personally think it is the best way to 'short cut' to most of the game sequence options. If you give specific instructions like 'use target man' or 'play down the flanks' then I think you are narrowing down your playing options, and this goes against my playing philosophy. I like to play more as a team (unit) and that is why basically the whole team is on global settings as well. I think that the game mechanism (still) reacts better to global settings, and on top of this it also helps in not using too much time fiddling around with a lot of things that I find unessassary...

[Justified]

Yes I agree, the 4-2-3-1 is a monster with the correct players and can be very flexible too. True you do narrow your options but you do also focus on the strongest point of the tactic. I also play wide width but focus down the flanks due to taking advantage of that wide width. It doesn't have to mean they'll never attack down the center because you can still have the MC's on TTB often and they'll pop a through ball now and then but I'd rather utilize the wingers as they've hugged the touchline and should have enough space to play in. I agree with global mentality though, it's theg way to go

[Loversleaper]

Yes I agree, the 4-2-3-1 is a monster with the correct players and can be very flexible too. True you do narrow your options but you do also focus on the strongest point of the tactic. I also play wide width but focus down the flanks due to taking advantage of that wide width. It doesn't have to mean they'll never attack down the center because you can still have the MC's on TTB often and they'll pop a through ball now and then but I'd rather utilize the wingers as they've hugged the touchline and should have enough space to play in. I agree with global mentality though, it's theg way to go

I always as much as possible try to strengthen all areas of the team so that we have more 'strings' to play on. But one of the reasons I did leave them so simple is to allow the Users to do the adjustments they feel they need to implement without having to 'untweak' anything first. This ideology is an outcome from how I thought, at one point in time, how to start off 'basic' (base tactics) and then I tweaked from this set-up to see how the ME was reacting to different instructions. Funnily enough I found them to be very efficient and sometimes it felt that the more I tweaked the more useless the tactic got...

[SFraser]

Very good to see the 4-5-1 varients being produced and discussed as a single tactical approach for a team. It has been long overdue and is the kind of real life football tactics that doesn't get a lot of attention on these boards. Unfortunately it is about 1 season out of touch with real life as 4-4-2 varients have come back into trend, but none the less this is the kind of thread you don't see enough of.

I have not tested your tactics as I do not currently have the full game, but I have full confidence in the solid construction of your tactics and their potency when properly used.

I would be interested to see if you could come up with a set of 4-5-1 varients that function like multiple different varients of a 4-4-2. I know gelling is extremely powerful in the game and I have always been hesitant to deviate much from a single formation, despite it being contradictory to how some teams play. I notice you do not have 4-4-1-1 listed and I think perhaps that formation might be ultimately the most flexible in terms of merging the worlds of the 4-5-1 and the 4-4-2.

Not sure if you would be interested in that but it might make for some interesting experiments and discussion. I really need to get FM10 fullgame sometime soon.

[benegerton1985]

I always as much as possible try to strengthen all areas of the team so that we have more 'strings' to play on. But one of the reasons I did leave them so simple is to allow the Users to do the adjustments they feel they need to implement without having to 'untweak' anything first. This ideology is an outcome from how I thought, at one point in time, how to start off 'basic' (base tactics) and then I tweaked from this set-up to see how the ME was reacting to different instructions. Funnily enough I found them to be very efficient and sometimes it felt that the more I tweaked the more useless the tactic got...

strange you say about tweaking making tactics useless, my best formation with this game was a 4-4-2 with everything on default apart from rigid and closing down more! :confused:

[Loversleaper]

Very good to see the 4-5-1 varients being produced and discussed as a single tactical approach for a team. It has been long overdue and is the kind of real life football tactics that doesn't get a lot of attention on these boards. Unfortunately it is about 1 season out of touch with real life as 4-4-2 varients have come back into trend, but none the less this is the kind of thread you don't see enough of.

I have not tested your tactics as I do not currently have the full game, but I have full confidence in the solid construction of your tactics and their potency when properly used.

I would be interested to see if you could come up with a set of 4-5-1 varients that function like multiple different varients of a 4-4-2. I know gelling is extremely powerful in the game and I have always been hesitant to deviate much from a single formation, despite it being contradictory to how some teams play. I notice you do not have 4-4-1-1 listed and I think perhaps that formation might be ultimately the most flexible in terms of merging the worlds of the 4-5-1 and the 4-4-2.

Not sure if you would be interested in that but it might make for some interesting experiments and discussion. I really need to get FM10 fullgame sometime soon.

I have a couple of 4-4-1-1 last season (Capello & Tapia) but I haven't posted them yet because I like to try them for a while so I have a better idea how they perform. When you do get the full game, I think you will just become more vibrant on your views over in the GQ. I have decided that I wasn't going to be too active atm because as we all know we are going to be bracing ourselves for a new patch and the process goes back to square one (almost)...

[Loversleaper]

strange you say about tweaking making tactics useless, my best formation with this game was a 4-4-2 with everything on default apart from rigid and closing down more! :confused:

I didn't mean that any tweaking makes the tactics useless, but the problem is if you don't 'tweak' correctly then you could end up contradicting instructions within a tactic causing that random effect we all loath...

[Cleon]

I'v always been under the impression that a 451 variant of somekind as been the main tactic used on FM since I can remember. They are certainly the easiest to understand imo.

[Loversleaper]

I'v always been under the impression that a 451 variant of somekind as been the main tactic used on FM since I can remember. They are certainly the easiest to understand imo.

Agreed. It might also be influenced by (in real life) that so many teams play a sterile 4-4-2 (not too risky) so we naturally dream of playing that old school Barcelona style of play with forward wingers, or using an attacking midfielder (trequartista) that has adequate cover behind him. Also the (4-5-1) tactic is more flexible then the 4-4-2 so that one can easily go more defensive and in stature it is more defensive then the 4-4-2. So a lot of variety that I think appeals to the Gamers...

[SFraser]

Agreed. It might also be influenced by (in real life) that so many teams play a sterile 4-4-2 (not too risky) so we naturally dream of playing that old school Barcelona style of play with forward wingers, or using an attacking midfielder (trequartista) that has adequate cover behind him. Also the (4-5-1) tactic is more flexible then the 4-4-2 so that one can easily go more defensive and in stature it is more defensive then the 4-4-2. So a lot of variety that I think appeals to the Gamers...

True again, but then the 4-4-2 at the basic level does offer much more offensive flexibility and it is no surprise to see it being re-introduced by teams who are playing by the premise of breaking down defensive systems for league success.

This might be a tad Anglo and World Class Side centric but it is hard to argue with the success of "Horses for courses" in the success of English sides domestically and in Europe so far this season. 4-5-1 domestically is producing mixed results while 4-4-2 is quite obviously opening up defences and producing the level of attacking football necessary to gain the points and results.

Variety as you rightly say is most important in football currently, and the adaption from 4-5-1 to 4-4-2 and back again is a significant feature of the current season of football. The tactical themes from preceding seasons have not halted, they have continued to evolve and even if this evolution is not supported in the current game then one would still hope to see discussion of this evolution in terms of how tactical principles apply to football manager gameplay.

This very thread is premised upon such principles and I think it does every user a power of good to get involved in such discussions. Building a single, solid 4-5-1 or 4-4-2 is only going to reap the rewards the user wishes to see on a highly irregular basis.

[Loversleaper]

SFraser: I fully agree with what you are saying, but right now it is a case of dealing with what we have been 'dished out'. I personally find it incredible difficult to motivate myself (atm) to go into details about the whole issue because it might be a little premature and I am (in a sense) waiting for an 'overall' evaluation has become more defined among the Community. 4-4-2 does have that breaking down element as you mentioned because of the increase in values up front, in real life you have better scoring options due to the extra man closer to opponent's goal and this of course has to be reflected into the FM game...

[SFraser]

SFraser: I fully agree with what you are saying, but right now it is a case of dealing with what we have been 'dished out'. I personally find it incredible difficult to motivate myself (atm) to go into details about the whole issue because it might be a little premature and I am (in a sense) waiting for an 'overall' evaluation has become more defined among the Community. 4-4-2 does have that breaking down element as you mentioned because of the increase in values up front, in real life you have better scoring options due to the extra man closer to opponent's goal and this of course has to be reflected into the FM game...

I understand completely what you are saying but my point is that even if the game is not accurate, the lessons of flexibility and solidity must be learned by everyone.

Many users on this forum seem to think that finding one solid tactic is essentially the "win" when infact finding one solid tactic is only the start of actually playing the game. Finding one solid tactic is the "win" in terms of now having a baseline formation upon which to build all future variations necessary to success.

I don't think the game is particulary accurate on several levels as a tactical simulation of real life football, there are many huge tactical "options" in real life football that simply do not exist in FM. However what is accurate is the necessity to adapt your own tactics to the opponent for maximum rewards, and I personally think that while most users know this, they do not understand it.

This understanding of necessary flexibility is a huge part of football. Being able to construct a solid tactic is "elementary" football, being able to construct multiple variations of that tactic is "intermediate" football, and being able to employ those variations properly to the task at hand or indeed construct entire tactics based upon that library of knowledge for the game at hand is "advanced" football.

Judging by the tactical and training tips forum most users are not even at "elementary" football while many of the most vocal assistants are discussing "advanced" football.

Threads like this one are particularly good because they sneak in some "advanced" football, highlight strongly the "intermediate" football, but generally end up discussing "elementary" football as the previous points are ignored.

I fear this is becoming somewhat off-topic and is in danger of derailing your thread despite my intentions to roundly support what you are posting here. There is a lot more football to be discussed in this thread than in many others, and football that is relevant to improving your performances ingame no matter you skill level. I wouldn't wade in here applauding your efforts and criticising the lack of tactical education available to the average FM user if I thought otherwise. You are one of the few around that constantly takes the time to actually try and help the average player.

[Loversleaper]

I fear this is becoming somewhat off-topic and is in danger of derailing your thread despite my intentions to roundly support what you are posting here. There is a lot more football to be discussed in this thread than in many others, and football that is relevant to improving your performances ingame no matter you skill level.

We are not going off topic as we are in the tactic discussion area, plus I feel we can have a discussion in the thread about anything we desire really. This time around I was going to write a summary on how to build tactics with my personal views on what sliders meant and how they work in conjuction with one and other instead of just posting tactics. But right now we are in the 'trying out and testing phase', and I find it a little hard to go advanced when I see other posts where Chelsea or Arsenal win over 20 games in a row then you start to wonder if you are not just going to start to talk 'jibberish'...

I am hoping at one time that we get back to the reality and are able to make a more advanced tactical ideologies where we can defeat the AI with thought and cunningness, but atm moment it looks like we are the last ones left. Thanks for your support and trust in my work, but I would have never got here if it wasn't for the other greats, like wwfan (who I feel I have been knocking about too much lately): He has always been a great bloke and one of the most important figures in the recent years, he actually deserves a lot of credit and I would actually hate to think where we would have been if it wasn't for him...

But SFraser, I hope that you carry on in the way that you have as I think that there are not a lot of people out there like you and your thoughts and I know you have a lot to offer. Thanks again...

[Cleon]

We are not going off topic as we are in the tactic discussion area, plus I feel we can have a discussion in the thread about anything we desire really.

I like the direction the discussion is going

[Loversleaper]

I like the direction the discussion is going

I bet that you also have a few things 'bottled up'. The pressure that comes with the duties of being a Moderator must cause a little 'fist-bitting' every so often and I can only imagine that you must resort to 'meditation', take a deep breath and just get on with it ("for the greater good", of course)...

[Magnakai Haaskivi]

I'm thrilled that you're putting out a set for FM'10; I went back to my notes on your original tactic sets (when there were still mentality splits) and starting re-creating those as needed with a fair amount of success (the 4-4-2 Milan, in particular worked very well for the one match I used it; it felt far more "in control" than the tactics I'd created with the wizard). I'm looking forward to seeing what else you can come up with!

[philwood]

Yeah these look great

controlling games really well when you use the right tactic.

any chance of a 442 set mate?

[AlexKid]

Hey Loversleaper!

I decided to try your set for a few months with my barcelona game and its working great. I know that almost anything is supposed to work with them but still.

I only made a few tweaks to make the tactic fit my Barcelona squad and almost everything is working...

My only problem is Messi is not playing at the expected level. I have tried increasing forward runs, creativity, lowering cross balls.... anything. Ideas?

Anyway, thanks for your hard work. Ill keep updating if youre interested.

[Loversleaper]

AlexKid: I would appreciate very much if you do keep us updated as I was hoping to see what the effects are of the tactics from another angle. I, too, have experienced similar to your results so I could do a lot with your input. Thanks...

LL

P.S. On the issue of Messi, the tactics are more set-up so that you have many options of where the attack is comming from and looking at the screen shots it looks to be the case. I think it is better for your overall results not to focus too much on any individual and get the whole team in on the action. I hope this helps...

[woodphil]

I think more and more people playing FM are coming round to the realisation that a tactics "set" is needed rather than just one tactic that you can put in place and win the league by 20 points. This is a good thing and the tactic set that loversleaper provided last season went along way to changing peoples views in my opinion. It certainly helped me to enjoy the game immensely. I think by constantly tweaking your tactics your not really sure if your doing more harm than good but changing the total mentality of the team in game seems to work well.

One thing that I find a little frustrating is that if you pick the wrong tactic (or mentality) then you are highely unlikely to win and will often find yourself 2-0 down within the first 15 minutes.

For example I was playing a game where I was big favourites at home so I started with the home tactic, after 15 mins I was 2 0 down so I changed to All out attack and came back to draw 2 -2. Just to have a look I reloaded the game and played the same game with the all out attack tactic from the beginning and won 4 -0. The next game I was big favourites again so I started with the all out attack and within 15 mins I was 2 - 0 down to far inferior opposition, I reloaded and started the game with home tactic and won comfortably 2 - 0.

It's all about deciding which tactic to use when which I really enjoy and changing in game when you have to. I just get the feeling that the standard of players has become somewhat irrevelant to the scoreline as this will be depending on which tactic (mentality) you have chosen. If you choose the wrong one no matter how good your team is you won't win.

Saying that though the tactic sets have been great in my opinion and increased my enjoyment of FM.

Im looking forward to when the other formations (I prefer playing with 2 strikers) are released, and I agree maybe wait until the patch is released as last year they didn't work as well after the release of a patch.

[Hummelshoj]

The biggest problem with 4 5 1 is to keep the back up forwards happy. I have a couple of very good forwards but it is hard to keep them all satisfied when you only play one. Do you rotate them a little bit or what is the best way to keep everybody satisfied?

[SFraser]

My only problem is Messi is not playing at the expected level. I have tried increasing forward runs, creativity, lowering cross balls.... anything. Ideas?

For Messi particularly try keeping him behind attackers and close to the play with a low Mentality so he can make best use of his skills. He is amazing at dribbling past players, linking up with players and pinging awesome throughballs and long shots.

You want him coming from deep rather than trying to break defences with his off-the-ball runs. How deep he should play in terms of Mentality and FWR depends on the rest of your team, but keep him deep and give him the ball and tell him to Dribble/Pass/Shoot with maximum Creative Freedom.

[Hammer1000]

Hey LL,

As you know i have been testing your tactic set and here is some info.

Although playing as Chelsea i was'nt sure just how things were going to go after struggling with previous saves with big clubs?

Well, i topped the EPL after 20 games with stats of Won 15 Drew 4 Lost 1 GF 34 GA 9 and in all competitions Won 21 Drew 6 Lost 2 GF 48 GA 19

I had a Goals Scored average of 1.7 per game and a Goals Conceded average of 0.7 per game

There came a time for about 4 games when i thought the tactic had died a death, i had 2 losses and 2 draws at this time and the performances were poor. Had things not improved in the next game or two, i may well never have finished the test, i went on a winning run and remained unbeaten.

It was not the most exciting football i have ever seen i have to say and i think the GPG ave of just 1.7 is really very low when you think that i was playing as Chelsea.

There were quite a few games particularly early on where i had to use the 4-3-3 attack tactic, this is not a blemish on your tactic/s, but rather on the game itself as again i found that even the poorest of clubs were defending faultlessly for 90 minutes and a few times it took a "great goal" to break the deadlock.

A few more goals scored and i may well have really enjoyed it, in spite of the ME, i'd like to see you put together a narrow 4-1-2-1-2 set so i can give it a go with the Hammers(wink, wink)

I'm going to try this out with Villa, although i'm not convinced that they have a good enough strike force to score enough goals?

I'll let you know how i get on!

[crouchaldinho]

It was not the most exciting football i have ever seen i have to say and i think the GPG ave of just 1.7 is really very low when you think that i was playing as Chelsea.

Just a quick point but your goal scoring average in the league was actually pretty similar to Chelsea's real life goals per game ratio.

[Hammer1000]

Just a quick point but your goal scoring average in the league was actually pretty similar to Chelsea's real life goals per game ratio.

Fair enough, 1.5 GPG scored and 0.9 GPG conceded is not great though(not blaming tactic) i just think this is why so many people are opting for overly aggressive tactics and just sticking with it, it is ultimately more exciting, you score more goals and your GPG scored compared to your GPG conceded is usually healthier than the 0.6 it was above.

The game this year is massively unbalanced, as a big club you often need to set up your tactics at the start of the match as if it was the last two minutes of a cup final and you are a goal down.

I just dont understand how they got it so wrong?

[crouchaldinho]

Fair enough, 1.5 GPG scored and 0.9 GPG conceded is not great though(not blaming tactic) i just think this is why so many people are opting for overly aggressive tactics and just sticking with it, it is ultimately more exciting, you score more goals and your GPG scored compared to your GPG conceded is usually healthier than the 0.6 it was above.

Maybe it is what you are doing wrong in the games outside the league.

In the league, you have a ratio comparable to the top four in real life at the moment (better than Man Utd or Tottenham, and around the same as Chelsea).

As for your goals conceded in the league, your record is better than Man Utd's, Arsenal's, Tottenham's and equal to Chelsea's real life record.

The game this year is massively unbalanced, as a big club you often need to set up your tactics at the start of the match as if it was the last two minutes of a cup final and you are a goal down.

I just dont understand how they got it so wrong?

Seems pretty balanced from your league results.

I would also urge caution regarding the overly aggressive tactics you keep talking about. I saw some of your findings on another thread and it was actually quite unrealistic compared to real life goals ratios.

Cheers,

C.

[SFraser]

It was not the most exciting football i have ever seen i have to say and i think the GPG ave of just 1.7 is really very low when you think that i was playing as Chelsea.

When Chelsea were playing a 4-5-1 varient they were not particularly exciting either.

If you want to play exciting football with the 4-5-1 varient then you need lots of players bombing forward from deep in midfield, like Arsenal against Wolves.

I don't know if Loversleaper has posted a 4-5-1 varient that plays like that but if you are using these tactics then "exciting football" is only going to come from a World Class Attacking side playing the most attacking variation of the formation.

The whole point of the formation is to remove "excitement" and work the gaps in a flat back four for a result.

[Hammer1000]

Oh dear trying this with Villa and its a complete abomination, not creating anything and been scored on for fun, just lost 6-1 away to Spurs.

This game is a nightmare.

[Loversleaper]

The only thing I can say in defense is that sometimes you might have to tone down a tactic framework thus playing more cautious than normal just to see if you can't bounce back or stabalise. Away to Spurs you might have had to play the Defensive tactic from the start, and thats why at times we are almost 'forced' to watch the whole game, it's not everyone's cup of tea I know (not mine at least). It's a little hit and miss lately and the contrast is unexplainable. I will at one point see if it is even worth making other formations but I am seriously putting my money on that it will take a patch or two before we see anything stable or resembling it. Welcome to the roller-coaster ride...

[higgsy]

Do you find you concede from alot of corners with your tactics? I've conceded 3 or 4 so far in about 5 games. Also I'm struggling away from home what tactic should I use? Other than that the tactics seems to be pretty good.

[higgsy]

Make that 4 corners in 3 games

[Loversleaper]

Do you find you concede from alot of corners with your tactics? I've conceded 3 or 4 so far in about 5 games. Also I'm struggling away from home what tactic should I use? Other than that the tactics seems to be pretty good.

I can't really explain the corner issue, I haven't personally seen this type of scenario (I'm not saying that it isn't possible though). If the tendancy continues then we should definatly take a look at it, so keep me informed on events.

Away you have to be more tactical then at home. You basically have three options and this is how I generally play:

Large favorites: AwayAttack.

Close odds: Away.

Underdogs: Defensive.

But this isn't going to be always the case as some teams behave differently and you need to know what is going on (at least extended highlights) so that you might have to either change up or down. It might seem a little hard to grasp in the very first attempts but if you start to learn the patterns in the game then it will become easier to spot what you could do to change events more to your advantage...

[higgsy]

Do you recommend using the extended highlights? I've only been using the key highlights at the moment.

Yeah there is def an issue with my Sunderland team but that might be more to do with them being a bit crap than your tactics to be honest.

[Loversleaper]

Do you recommend using the extended highlights? I've only been using the key highlights at the moment.

Yeah there is def an issue with my Sunderland team but that might be more to do with them being a bit crap than your tactics to be honest.

There is something that I haven't really mentioned, once you start to realise how tactical settings work then you will see that these tactics/settings compliment better teams (general assumption). You see, if you really want to go into depth how the ME works in relation to your team then we will have to make a whole other thread, but I don't think this is the time as we are not ready for it (me included). There are certain things that need to be clarified before we as a community can move into this type of Game Play. Right now we are a little inbetween 'stages' and when I try to read the Match Stats I am not getting that much wiser on how I will be able to give a visual clarified explaination that will actually make sense to anyone (including myself). The only thing I do know is that the 'old' style of Game Play still exists (underneath it all), but there are other variables that are influencing the game and need to be sorted out. This part is out of my hands...

[ShirazS]

Hey Loversleaper,

I am going to give your tactics a go with Man Utd and I will keep you posted. Are there any suggestions or recommendations that you might have for using the tactics with United?

Thanks

Shiraz

[ShirazS]

Well I won all my friendlies convincingly and lost the CS to Chelsea on penalties. And then a shock loss at West Ham followed by an away win at Hull. I used the Away tactic at West Ham. Should I have rather went for the Attacking Away?

[Loversleaper]

ShirazS: I most likely would have played AwayAttack. Teams you feel you really should beat you should play this tactic...

[ShirazS]

Thanks, I will keep that in mind for future away games.

[ShirazS]

Okay so since my last update, I have only lost once to Chelsea away and drawn once to Blackburn away. However in the Chelsea game I played Defensive and I think that was a mistake because they were all over me until I switched to Away. In the League, Chelsea are on a ridiculous run but I am confident that I can catch them later on .

[Hummelshoj]

Which tactics do you use in cupfinals?

[Loversleaper]

Which tactics do you use in cupfinals?

The AwayAttack (Mentality 13) should work well on nuetral pitches, so this would be my natural choice. If you feel that you will have difficulties matching your opponent you might want to use the Away tactic (Mentality 10) to see how your team reacts before you could attempt to switch up...

[electraguard]

A new era has dawned upon us, we no longer have to go into detail about one thing or the other and in many ways it is a relief for many. Thankfully though the underlying mechanism is still intact so we can still make 'classic' tactics. I am under the impression that 'classic' tactics are still better than the pre-set options that the creator creates as we can still be more precise in our instructions.

So let's cut through all that boring stuff and go straight to the most important part: the tactics. I know that the creator offers 7 tactical options but personally I found 5 to be more than enough.

The Formations: they are all basically the same in shape. The AllOutAttack is a 4-3-3 and the defensive formation is a 4-1-4-1, the other 3 tactics are a 4-1-2-2-1. I have made them simple and can be used in any weather condition. They are all very basic and one could choose to implement more advanced roles for the players but personally I haven't felt/found it is nessassry. Leaving them as they are is adequate for them to do what it is required of them and this style of play offers a lot 'diversity'.

The Players: most of the players are on mixed instructions that contribute to the diversity. Goals and what not will be comming in from all angels and the mixed ideology (re: run from deep) holds the team more in position and not having them make tiring runs. Every team has the potential to be a new 'Real Madrid' so I advise people to go to the Good Player Forum and pick up some of the all important shortlists.

The Tactics: you just have to use the right tactic for the right occassion and you should be doing better than worse.

The 4-3-3_AllOutAttack: as it says on the 'tin', for those moments when you need to throw it all forward.

The 4-1-2-2-1_HomeAttack: for your home games.

The 4-1-2-2-1_AwayAttack: for those times where you are large favorite away from home. Also use this is if you are behind in a game and you have been using a lesser mentality tactic (later on in games). Also a good tactic for those games played on 'neutral' pitches.

The 4-1-2-2-1_Away: your normal away tactic.

The 4-1-4-1_Defensive: for those times where you need to play defensively.

Download link:http://www.mediafire.com/file/yjjimly0jzi/TestTactics.rar

I have used your tactics and it has resulted in my team doing a lot better. Thanks. I noticed that the touchline instructions are no longer available during the game. Do your tactics override the touchline instructions or do I have some other problem?