The Project 2012 (Updated for FM12)

[Cleon]

Attacking Midfielder Centre

I’m guessing this is the position majority of people want to see and discuss due to the amount of goals scored. When VDV is injured I use Hazard in the exact same role with the exact same settings. VDV scored 36 goals in 44 games. And Hazard got 20 goals from the same position. So a return of 56 goals in 65 games combined between them is an excellent return.

Not much to talk about from an attribute point of view, it’s pretty obvious what his strengths are and what a good player he is.

So let’s look at his tactic settings;

I’ve gave him lots of creative freedom and an attacking mentality, but he’s not too advanced. This is to stop him been too far ahead of play and been less effective. He basically plays as a second striker rather than an attacking midfielder. Basically he is set up to be as attacking as possible and I’ve allowed him to roam to find and create space. It’s important that I allow him the creative freedom to make use of the roaming he will be doing. That is why he is so successful. If I just gave him roaming and no creativity then it would kind of be pointless as he wouldn’t be taking advantage of the situation.

That isn’t the only reason why he seems to play so well. It’s about the players around him. He links up with the midfield, attacking midfielders and the striker really well. You’ll see some examples later on when we start looking at how his role actually plays out in a game.

Let’s take a look at his stats for the season;

It’s no surprise his heading and passing was as low as he can’t do either. Plus he was set up to just attack so I don’t really mind about these been low.

[Cleon]

Attacking Midfielder Right

This position is simple; to scare defences with pace and get the ball into the box if a chance arises. It’s as simple as that.

Lennon has good physical attributes, mediocre mental attributes and rubbish technical attributes, although his dribbling attribute is good. So I am just going to rely on his pace and acceleration to commit defenders and create space for Defoe and VDV to exploit.

These are his settings;

As you can see he is set to run with the ball often and run from deep often. He is set to hug the touchline to offer width and not take up the space that VDV will be going for. This will allow VDV to find more space and have options out wide to pass to if he can’t pass to Defoe upfront. The rest of his settings are straight forward and just based on attacking. I have enough defensive players to cope with how I want to play.

Let’s take a look at Lennon’s season stats;

His dribbles made a game are alright but not as high as it could have been. But he still finished 4th in the Premiership for dribbles made. One of the players who beat him was another Spur’s player who we’ll get onto a little later.

The other stats from the season don’t really do him justice to what he actually brings to the team. Once we start viewing games you’ll see what he brings to the table.

[Cleon]

Attacking Midfielder Left

This was the most effort I’ve ever put into making a position work. It took me 5 months game time to get the position right. Bale was performing ok but I wasn’t getting the most out of him. It was hard to find the right balance and not take the focus away from Defoe and VDV. So after watching all the games on full and just focusing on Bale I finally sorted it and he had a brilliant second half of the season.

I think his instructions are pretty easy to understand why he is set up like that. I’m not going into too much detail here because I’ll be explaining how I tried to implement him into team when we discuss some other aspects after the instructions part of this article.

Bale finished the season with having the highest dribbles in the Premiership.

[Cleon]

Striker

Defoe scores goals it’s that simple. He is set up to play off balls supplied by all three attacking midfielders.

He is the ideal poacher although his first touch and dribbling are a bit low, but he can still do the job very well.

It’s important that he doesn’t drift out to the channels. I need him to stay central to work alongside VDV. I already have enough width if needed. Because he only has 12 for the dribbling attribute, that is why I gave him run with ball sometimes.

Pretty good pass completion rate for a striker.

[Cleon]

How to Counter Attack

I posted highlights of one of my Tottenham games where I beat Manchester United 6-2 in a few threads last week. Since then I’ve had a lot of questions via PM asking me how the last goal was scored and asking how I managed to have so many advanced players in front of the Manchester United defence. So I’ve decided to explain exactly how move worked. For those of you unfamiliar with what I am talking about, here are the highlights of the game in question. It’s the last goal which I scored what raised the questions.

[video=youtube;WLJlfPhn7Wg]

The highlight’s don’t do the whole move justice though as you don’t see how the move started. So we are going to have a look at how the move was made and discuss the attributes used by each player involved. As well as looking at their tactical instructions and seeing how they had an impact on the move.

The move actually started down next to my corner flag from a quick throw that Evra took.

He attempted to throw the ball quickly to Wayne Rooney. However Sandro, my defensive midfielder had other ideas.

Rooney as started to swivel around already. And he is attempting to take the path highlighted by the yellow arrow in the screenshot. Sandro my defensive minded midfielder is facing the ball and attempting to get in front of Wayne Rooney to make the interception. This is highlighted by the blue arrow.

Sandro showed great anticipation to guess what Rooney would do next. He then showed good strength, acceleration, decisions and excellent positioning. If you remember from the settings further up in the thread you’ll know he was set to tight mark. As the throwing was taken quickly he didn’t have the chance to get tight to Rooney at first. But because he has good positioning, marking, anticipation, workrate, tackling and decisions he knew exactly what he was doing. He knew he could win the ball with an interception. He read the move excellently as soon as Rooney started to pivot he anticipated his run and made the interception. The concentration attributes also helped him stay focused.

In the above screenshot you can see that Sandro won the ball and that Rooney is facing the wrong way. Now if you study the screenshot for a few seconds you can see I have facing the right way and looking to break out quick. This is highlighted by the black arrows. The blue arrow represents the pass option that Sandro will make. The yellow arrow shows that Defoe should get on to any ball played in that area because he has a good few yards start on his marker.

Now after Sandro wins the ball there is only one thing on his mind and that is to pass the ball. He is instructed to get hold up the ball which he does. He has a quick look around and assesses the situation then chooses to pass to Defoe. This is why it’s vital he has mixed passing setting so he can decide the type of pass he makes.

For this part of the move he shows good concentration, composure, technique, decisions and a good final pass.

[Cleon]

This next screenshot is vital to the move;

The ball reached Defoe with ease. As you can see Ferdinand is on the wrong side of Defoe and a few yards away from him to make an attempt to tackle. Look at all the Manchester United players behind the ball. They have a total of 8 players who are out of the game by one simple pass from Sandro. Now look at my players busting a gut to get forward. This is real counter attacking football and you can see the effect that the tactical settings are having on the players. It’s quickly becoming a 5 vs. 2 moves. Even behind the yellow line you can see that other players are also trying to join up and moving forward quickly.

Defoe showed great off the ball movement to give him that extra few yards over his marker. Good anticipation to anticipate the movement of the ball. A good first touch to keep the ball near him and good composure because he knows Ferdinand is very close to him.

Then his physical attributes come into play. He shows great agility and balance to be able to turn and accelerate away then his pace takes over.

Now look this screenshot;

There is no doubt about it in Defoe’s mind, he is driving forward at full pace down the flank. Rio Ferdinand the defender chasing him is well aware of the threat from the other player’s around and isn’t rushing into a tackle. Rio’s best chance is to force him into the corner and hope he can narrow his passing options. But Defoe has the advantage here and he knows it, that’s why he is driving forward.

Pace, determination, dribbling, technique and decisions are the forefront attributes working hard here.

The next screenshot;

Defoe was never going to the by-line, do you remember why? He was set to cross from deep. He is also set to direct passing which means he should only pass backwards as a last resort. Because he is set to a normal creative freedom setting he decided to make the correct decision at the exact right time. If it was set lower he might have not made the decision until a lot later. If it was set higher he might have made the decision far too early.

Here it was all about making the right choice, so the decision attribute here was what triggered what happened next. Then it was flair, creativity, technique and the actual passing attributes that were used next.

The next screenshot;

Once VDV receives the ball there is only one outcome. But if he did choose to pass he could lay it off right for Lennon or tap it left for Bale. However the form he’s in, he takes it himself and slots it past the keeper. Before he receives the ball he shows great off the ball movement and you can see the run from deep option working.

VDV used his creative freedom here and that allowed him to make what he thought the correct decision would be. I think if his team work attribute was higher he might have actually laid the pass off instead of taking the shot. But because his teamwork attribute is only 14 he is quite selfish in front of goal at times. This can be a good or bad thing at times.

He also used anticipation, decisions, flair, creativity, technique, concentration, composure and finishing at some stage during the move.

This move highlights exactly how the counter attacking option works. It commits players forward when you win the ball back and hits the opponents on the break quickly. It works even better when your team is blessed with pace and acceleration.

[Cleon]

The Project – FM 12

I didn't want to disregard this thread as it's still valuable and works along side the current stuff I'm writing, so I've combined it with the Sheffield United Project.

It’s been quite a while since I contributed anything to the SI community. The last thing I did was the explanation of the attributes thread, which was very demanding and a painfully draining process. I’ve not abandoned the thread but instead I’m going to attempt to combine it with this one. Basically those of you who follow my threads will know that this is the Sheffield United Project thread. The reason I’ve not put that as the title is because people think the thread will be just about Sheffield United. Which is true, but the information in these threads is helpful for everyone and not just a specific team. So hopefully more people will ask questions and we can have a good tactical debate.

As usual I will try and make the thread as detailed as possible but remember this is a lengthy process so at times updates might not be as regular as you’d like. The aim of this thread is to highlight a certain playing style that I use and to show others how I set about playing my own game. This will involve everything that I do in a game. It will show my tactics, training, how to turn a game around and a whole host of other things.

Like all my threads this will have a separate discussion thread, this thread (the main one) will have all the info in it so you don’thave to search through the hundreds of replies to find what you want. As that can be very daunting and time consuming for people at times.

[Cleon]

Training

This year I’ve paid a lot more attention to training compared to previous years. I’ve devised pre season training, position specific training and even done some youth schedules. I’ve been trying these schedules out for a while now. In fact I started on FM 11 and then been working on them during the FM 12 beta. Now I don’t claim them to be perfect or anything as that will take several in game years to work out how good they are. But they are avery good starting place for me and seem to be working so far in my game. There nothing fancy or special and still needs quite a few tweaks but generally I’m quite happy with how they are shaping up.

The reason why I’ve concentrated more this year on trainingis the fact that Sheffield United have a few good youth player’s for a change. So I’m focusing on them and trying to use the youth set up and training facilities as much as I can. I always like to concentrate on youths and bring them through to the main squad. On previous versions I’ve not been able to do that but due to how good my current facilities are it really might be possible to get a few of them come through the ranks. I don’t expect to create anyworld-class player that’s not what I’m after. But I’m hoping to get a couple of squad players hopefully.

For pre-season I’ve just made some basic overall schedules and tried to keep it simple. I’ve done schedules for keepers, defence, midfield and strikers. I didn’t see the point in creating ones to be more position specific.

Pre-season

GK’s

Defenders

Midfield

Strikers

I’ve not had any bad injuries as of yet using these schedules. I’ve had a few little niggles here and there but that is expected due to the physical nature of them.

I use these schedules until 1 week before my opening fixture. I’ve never bothered with pre-season schedules before so I thought I’d try something a little different this time. I saw no real major benefits using these over the normal schedules thus far though. It’s something for me to keep track of for a few seasons though, as training is all about the long term. Long term I think I must see some kind of benefits.

The proper season schedules will be posted on the day of the game release

[Cleon]

Season Schedules

These schedules are also rather basic in terms of positions they cater for. As I plan on playing 4-1-2-2-1 and 4-4-2 at some point then I try to fit my schedules around the position I intend to use.

Keeper

Defender

Fullbacks

DMC

[Cleon]

MC

Wingers

Strikers

I’ve just based these schedules on the attributes I intend on using for each position. These schedules are likely to change as I progress and see what effect the schedules are having on my players. Short term they seem to be doing a decent job but it’s too early to see the long term effect just yet.

I’m going to develop the youth schedules over the season as I go along, so I’ll be posting about them at a later date. As I have a lot of trial and error to do first so I have a correct base to build the schedules from. Another reason for this is I’m toying around with the idea of creating specific schedules for all the better youth players I have at the club. This could be more beneficial and allow me to focus on the attributes they will be using at a much younger age.

The thread will be updated every so often with how the players are progressing on these schedules and I’ll be sure to tell you of any changes I make.

[Cleon]

The Squad

I have the best squad in League One there is no question about that. I honestly believe I have a squad that could be in the premiership now and probably not get relegated the first season. McDonald, Montgomery, Quinn,Lowton and Ched Evans are all capable of holding their own in the Premiership.These are the player’s that I will try and keep hold of through out the season as they will be vital for promotion. The squad I possess is quite big and I’m nearly 40k over my wage budget. Which means I will have to sell quite a few player’s to keep the wages down. I’ve no chance of bringing anyone in on a permanent basis as the club is in a financial mess. But all is not lost as Ican attract some good players in on loan. Plus I have some really good prospects that will get a first team chance as I see how they develop.

These players are; Whitehouse, Kennedy, Long, Maguire,McFadzean, Tonne and Ironside. They are all capable of playing when needed in the first team. I could loan them out butfor the level I’m playing at they should develop well and at a much faster rate by staying with me and playing games here. If I was in The Championship then I probably would loan them out as there not ready for that level just yet. But they might be next season if I give them all a chance now.

[Cleon]

The Tactic

It might surprise people this year to see me opt for a 4-42. Normally I avoid using two strikers as it limits the formation you can create when having two upfront. But I thought I’d be a bit different this year,especially as I keep seeing people post saying 4-4-2 is dead, it doesn’t work anymore blah blah. That’s simply not true; it’s still a very formidable formation ifyou know the strengths and weaknesses. Every single formation has advantages and disadvantages. It’s just a case of knowing your own and then making the best of them in games. I’m also seeing people use 4-2-4 and claiming they have no choice but to push the wingers wide as it helps them score more goals and get more assists. Again also not true in my opinion. I can get my wingers very involved in a game and have them score a few goals and chip in with a few assists.

The main disadvantage the 4-4-2 brings is the lack of central midfielder, when playing against 4-5-1, 4-3-3. Not only does it lack the extra man in the middle, it also lacks an extra attacker as the 4-3-3/4-5-1 hybrid pushed wingers up making it a 3 pronged attack. But that doesn’t mean the 4-4-2 is any less effective than it used to be. You’ve just got to learn to adapt to situations and have a plan b should you feel something’s not working in a game. The 4-4-2 does bring its own advantages though and is one of the most versatile formations that you can use. Hopefully over the coming seasons I can show you how versatile and adaptable the 4-42 really is.

So let’s take a look at it;

That’s the formation and starting strategy.

And those are the team settings.

Some of you might be a little confused or wonder why I’ve chosen some of the settings I have, I’ll try and explain why. I’m a big club in a small league, in this league I am the Man Utd’s and Barcelona’s. Everyone wants to beat me; we are the big name attraction this season. So why not play like the above teams? I know I have a great squad filled with experience and youth. I have a really good blend of them both. So with that in mind I wanted to play attractive football. Some of play players that I have in certain roles don’t have the required attributes to play that role. However it’s more about how I want the team to play as a unit, so I’m hopefully going to demonstrate that you can use the role to good effect even if you don’t have a player who typically fits the mould for the selected role.

We will touch upon that once I actually play a game, but for now that’s the shape and setting I am using.

[Cleon]

Being the favourites in a league can also have its downside.Teams tend to park the bus in front of the goal and they can’t be extremely hard to break down. With that been said I still expect to win the league. With the exception of Sheffield Wednesday and Charlton I don’t see any teams who possess the players to beat me. I honestly don’t, I have a far superior squad compared to the rest of the league and depth. There’s no doubt that you need a squad that has got depth to be able to cope with injuries, suspensions and fatigue. I’m lucky in that aspect as I have two starting 11’s that could easily play and win games. So there is no doubt that, this will be a major factor come end of the season.

So my plan is to win the league, to achieve this I need to keep clean sheets. I hope I’ll score a fair amount of goals as well but clean sheets are a priority. If the opposition doesn’t score then you can’t lose. It really is that simple. If I keep a strong defence then there is no reason why I can’t win the league. I understand that things can go wrong at any time but that’s why I’ve devised a second tactic just in case. It still encourages an expressive free flowing game but it’s a 4-5-1/4-3-3 hybrid. The reasons for choosing this shape was to help me with an extra man in midfield and an extra attacker compared to the 4-4-2 should I ever need it. I don’t play on using it often if at all but I might need it against a superior side should I encounter one in the cup. Or even an injury could force my hand to use it but I’m going to try and use it as least as possible. But it’s always a good idea to have a backup plan and something available that will offer you something different.

Here is the 2^nd tactic;

As you can see I want it to play the same style of footballas the 4-4-2 I use. But the roles are slightly different here to give me that something a little bit different.

[Cleon]

I'm in a bit of a dilemma. I've got 2 Sheffield United games on the go (demo) while I'm waiting for the full release of FM. The 4-4-2 is doing great, lots of goals and loads of clean sheets. I'm still unbeaten on it. However in the 2nd game were I'm testing my new training schedules I'm using the 4-4-3/4-5-1 hyrbid I posted. But My MC is getting on average 80+ passes in majority of games. This as got me wanting to explore the 4-3-3 I'm using lot more and tweak it to get even better results. I know a lot of people are aiming to get their playmaker to do 80+ passes a game but are finding it hard to do so. So I might start my game again tonight and use the hybrid formation and go into detail about how and why they get so many passes, what do you all think?

Let me know is this thread please http://community.sigames.com/showthread.php/277254-The-Project-2012-Discussion-Thread