An Approach to FM10 Tactics

[neonlights]

Evenin' all.

It seems there has been quite a lot of talk on the boards recently about topics such as whether or not to use just a single tactic for a whole season, or whether or not you should design a formation to fit your players or vice versa, etc. I thought then, that maybe a structured and (hopefully) simple to follow method of tactical design for FM10 might be in order so, here is my two-cents. Of course, as always this is just my own way of getting what I want out of the game and it may not be to everybodies liking, but if it helps anyone then it's a success, right?

Where to start?

The simple answer to this is going to be dependent on the expectations of your club, and the players at your disposal. It is worth separating your league into: Title Contenders, Promotion Contenders, Mid-table, Relegation Fighters and Certainties for the Drop just to see exactly where your team fits. Only then, can you think about the tactics you are going to employ. For me, I believe that only a couple of tactics, maximum, are necessary to achieve a respectable position, and I often like to just use a single one. This works because, rather than chopping around with 10 tactics in a match based on each event that happens, you can simply tweak a tactic to exploit your strengths/opposition weaknesses before a game and let the players reap the benefits. I'll explain more on this shortly.

Team Instructions

Once you know where you stand in comparison to the other teams in your league, you can get to work onn building your staple formation and tactics. If you are in the 'Mid-table' bracket then, you might decide that a fairly conservative but mildly attacking tactic will suit your ambitions, while 'Title Contenders' will want to have more fluidity, overlapping fullbacks and that sort of thing. Everything 'team-based' will need to be decided at this stage, at least in draft, such as general passing-style, tempo and width. It's important to note that formation and team-based instructions are inextricably linked. A maximum-width tactic, for example, is most likely to flourish with somewhat more direct passing, and a quick tempo to ensure the space made on the wings is taken advantage of before the opposition defenders have time to re-position.

It is very important not to be afraid to physically alter the shape of your formation if you have a definite style of play. For one team I have been playing with I wanted overlapping fullbacks, and several attacking midfielders playing more narrowly to overwhelm the opposition from all sides. For this, I set up what appeared to be a very narrow formation, with only the fullbacks as wide players. But the appropriate player instructions meant that the tactic worked as planned and we achieved a high level of width from fullbacks pushing up heavily. So, once you have a plan, make sure your formation reflects it, and don't be worried that it appears to narrow or sparse in the middle; the player instructions will be more important here.

Of course, new to FM10 is the introduction of Philosophies and Strategies. These must also fit the style of play you are opting for, which is governed by the club you are at. I can't stress this enough. I often read about people who join a team expected to finish 16th and try to get them to play Total Football and wonder why they get tonked every week. Your tactics have to be relative to the club you are at, designed to beat the teams worse than you and try to overcome those better than you. If you don't have the best players, you can't expect to give everyone maximum creative freedom and not get caught out of position all the time. Ahem, rant over (), that brings me nicely back to Philosophies and Strategies which will be very much embedded in the particular style you are after.

Player Instructions

I should say at this stage that by now I normally still would not have picked a first-team yet. Of course, formation is somewhat dependent on the players you have, but it is far more dependent on what you are trying to achieve. The transfer market is your next port of call after you have built a tactic in order to acquire the necessary players to suit the roles you have created. Instead, I prefer to sort out player instructions without actually putting a player in the shirt, so to speak, so that I don't get overly influenced by additional qualities my players might have (that can come later). To explain, let's say I'm after a very rigid formation, designed to be impenetrable and hit back on the break. If, at the tactic creating stage, I suddenly realise I've got a brilliantly creative player, I might get carried away and set him up to be some kind of Lionel Messi, when the role doesn't suit my tactics at all. Like I say, it's much more important to focus on where you want to finish in the league when setting up a tactic, than to try to create a formation where every single position is taylored to a particular players attributes.

Now, again, player instructions are going to be determined by your formation and team instructions. Handily, the addition of Roles and Duties makes it much easier to set up a player the way you need him to play for your formation. Take your fullbacks, for instance. If you are wanting a conservative, don't-get-caught-out-of-position kind of a back four, you might set up your fullbacks as Fullback>Defend. You might want him to get up the wing, overlap your fullbacks, and whack a few balls into the box - thus, Fullback>Attack. The Roles and Duties across the field are very important, but you shouldn't find them too tricky to navigate once you know how you want your team to play.

Of course, it is important to acquaint yourself with the Advanced tab too, in order to fine-tune the way your players are set up. Setting up closing down for your centre-backs via the sliders is something I find particular useful, in order to stop them letting an attacker goal-side. This is also where you can start adding instructions based on individual player attributes, so long as it doesn't affect your overall gameplan. An example I can think of might be to set up the Liverpool team in the particular formation you wish for, with the player instructions all sorted, and then popping Agger's Long Shots to Sometimes for a bit of extra spice . Tweaks like this should be used only to complement your team, without damaging the overall team strategy. Here's an example of a detrimental tweak based a players attribute: let's say you are wanting that rigid, flat back four which never loses it's shape, and you discover one of your defenders has great tackling, positioning, pace, the lot. One change you might make would be to put his closing down on really high since he has the stats to cope with chasing the ball all over the pitch. But, then, your rigid defence suddenly loses its shape, and while your superstar centre-back is closing down the ball in the opposition half, the rest of your mediocre backline are suddenly susceptible to a numerical disadvantage and bam, your 1 nil down. In short, a formation should be generally the same with any players of the same level, but slight tweaks can help complement your side and give you an advantage.

Opposition Instructions

A highly underrated feature of the game in my opinion. We've all heard the stories of legendary managers like Clough and Shankly telling his players a little weakness that his opponent that day had, only to exploit it and hammer that opponent for 90 minutes. Well, this is the feature of FM10 which lets you have your own little slice of pre-match words of genius. I find it is very useful to give a few of the opposition players a good scan, and have a look at where they are poor. The obvious one is their weaker foot, which it can be very helpful to show an opponent onto to nullify their threat. Furthermore, analyse whether or not an opponent is quick. If they are especially fast, I sometimes turn Tight Marking to Never, because I know that if my player goes to him he will get skinned, but if stands off him he will stop him using his pace.

Another scenario it might be handy for is when you are facing a team who has one central midfielder who has a poor shot but is a good passer, and the other one who is much better at finishing. It is clear what the team is going to do here - they are going to get the decent finisher to get into space, and get the good passer to pick him out. So, to stop this happening, heavily close down the decent finisher, and allow the lad with a poor shot more time on the ball. He can try to pick out his partner if he wants but he will be closed down in an instant.

Where next?

Well, that is my two-cents for now, but I intend to follow this up with an actual example with a team, where I will give a detailed analysis of the tactical creation process for that specific team and try to achieve highly in a season. I think that might help add a bit of colour to the principles I've outlined and hopefully it might help some people who are struggling to find a bit of success.

Now to decide what team to be!

[Abramovic]

Great opening post neonlights as far as team selection i think you should go for a mid table team such as Wigan or Blackburn

[Cleon]

Good opening post like stated above

Id personally go with someone like Spurs, Fulham or West Ham

[Corkey]

Hull would be a great challenge

[neonlights]

Cheers for the comments all.

Having had a look at the Prem teams I am thinking Wigan might be a decent shout because they are expected to finish 11th, which puts them in a nice position to try and transform from mid-table mediocrity to a European contender. Incidentally, I wasn't necessarily planning on using a team in the Prem but in reflection I think that, in terms of more widespread knowledge of the players and teams involved, it would make the whole thing more accessible.

Anyway, my game is loading as we speak so I'll try and get a post on today to let you know how it's going.