The Rule of 7

[Googen]

Fixed Download: http://www.mediafire.com/?ch415n3jnk99v1v 4-4-2 Target Man (10 tactics in the pack - the defensive line is detailed in parenthesis)

http://www.mediafire.com/?8chgn0sqjvvopqt 4-4-2 Support Striker (for those of you who don't have a bona fide target man in your squad or simply prefer to employ a no.10)

This system was developed to promote good interplay between players, staggering mentality and passing according to degrees within a range of seven values. The results have been outstanding. Bear in mind that I've been tweaking this system for the best part of three seasons but when I finally perfected it in the latter half of Penarol's 2014/2015 season I took them on a seven game winning streak (keeping seven clean sheets along the way), to clinch the Clausura and ultimately Manya's first league title in four years.

Sun, 12.4.2015 19:00 Liverpool (URU) H 4 - 0 Primera División Profesional Clausura

Sun, 19.4.2015 19:00 Plaza Colonia A 1 - 0 Primera División Profesional Clausura

Sun, 26.4.2015 19:00 Danubio H 1 - 0 Primera División Profesional Clausura

Sun, 3.5.2015 19:00 Bella Vista A 2 - 0 Primera División Profesional Clausura

Sun, 10.5.2015 15:30 Cerro H 3 - 0 Primera División Profesional Clausura

Wed, 29.7.2015 19:00 Libertad de San Car. A 5 - 0 Friendly

Fri, 31.7.2015 19:30 Tristán Suárez A 3 - 0 Friendly

Mentality:

If you look at the FM2012 tactics board you'll notice that formations are broken into seven lines or bands. Mentality seems to mainly influence passing choice but I'm guessing some forward movement as well. With this in mind, set up your players' mentality settings within a range of seven values. I wanted to design a classic 90's 4-4-2, based on the model that Hodgson, Eriksson and others revolutionised football with. While 4-4-2 is composed of three outfield lines, I break my team down into seven ranks along a range of 14 to 20 - you want your players to be as opportunistic as possible. So my keeper's set to 14, centre-halves to 15, holding midfielder to 16, full-backs to 17, wingers to 18, box-to-box midfielder to 19 and strikers to 20. The idea is to create passing routes and encourage the full-backs to overlap and get those crosses in.

Passing, Width, Tempo and Counter-Attacking:

4-4-2 is a counter-attacking formation by default and relies on direct passing, feeding the two strikers early and often, playing on the break and exploiting the space down the channels. You're fielding two centre-forwards after all, that's an extra man you could employ in midfield to help control posession. The Passing, Width and Tempo sliders range from 1-17 (compared to the individual sliders which range from 1-16). I play a very direct brand of football, designed to get the ball wide and whip it into my big 6'4" target man Braian Rodriguez. I use a value of 15. On the individual instructions the rule of 7 sees my keeper passing to 16 (long), holding midfielder to 15 (direct), full-backs to 14, centre-halves to 13, wingers to 12, box-to-box midfielder to 11 and strikers to 10. The idea is to create passing lanes and encourage the holding midfielder to sweep the ball out to the wings. Rodriguez bagged 17 league goals under this system and won Player of the Year.

Creative Freedom:

I want my team to keep it's shape so I use a conservative range of 5 to 11 with my target man keeping things very simple at 9.

Defensive Line and Pressing:

Being first to the ball is everything in Football Manager and your choice of defensive line along with closing down instructions will greatly influence your success here. You need a broad range of tactical variants to make this system work, from a very high line of 17 all the way down to lower values. Your system may be composed of ten or more tactical variants, each one playing a slightly deeper defensive line.

My strikers always close down to the highest value (16). My midfield functions as a unit, in a 4-4-2 it defends zonally collapsing back like a drift net to compress the space in front of the zonal back four. My four midfielders always close down to one value higher than the defensive line (up to 16). My back four defends zonally, closing down to one below the defensive line.

Countering the Opposition:

My default defensive settings work fine against most 3-line formations. Against a standard 4-4-2, 3-5-2 or the 4-3-3 (3 strikers) I start a defensive line of 13. If I score a goal I drop deeper to a defensive line of 12 and so on, (the ideal defensive line to start with seems to depend on your club's reputation. Also, as you win more trophies your club's reputation will increase and you may have to adopt a higher line as your default tactic).

Against any formation that fields one or more defensive midfielders I'm forced to play a more aggressive line of 16. You want your midfield to engage the opposition and pressure them, forcing them to hit the ball long where you typically have a free man at the back. Faced with a lone centre-forward one of my centre-halves becomes a stopper, stepping up early to deny him time on the ball (C.D. +1).

Against a 4-4-2 diamond I play slightly deeper employing a defensive line of 15 to account for the threat posed by the attacking midfielder.

For example, I'm playing Nacional and they're set up in a 4-2-3-1 formation. I start with a defensive line of 16, my quickest centre-half pushes up early to deny their centre-forward time on the ball (C.D. +1). I go 1-0 up in the 23rd minute so I immediately go into my tactics and switch to 4-4-2 Target Man (15), tweaking the individual instructions again. They equalise and I switch back to 4-4-2 Target Man (16). Even if I go a goal down I will still hold to the default tactic I started with. If it's late in the game and you find yourself losing, chasing the ball and the opposition has 'parked the bus', you might try playing a higher line, depending on how much you're losing by. This is a risky strategy though and good teams will punish a high line with incisive passes.

When playing cup competitions that feature two-legged ties simply use the aggregate scoreline as a measure for your starting tactic, e.g. if you are leading 2-0 from the first leg, play two values lower than you normally would. The away goal only kicks in when the aggregate score is level, e.g. if you're leading 2-2 on the away goal rule, play one deeper than your default defensive line.

When I want to close out a game I simply check my players' runs from deep, telling my back four and central midfielders to get forward rarely. If I notice that the opposition is going for goal and committing lots of players forward I look to counter-attack and instruct all my players, including my keeper to hit through balls as often as possible.

4-4-2 was developed to defend zonally, I never use man-marking instructions but if you want to adapt the rule of 7 to a 4-3-3 or some kind of sweeper system you could accomodate man-marking tactics. When I move to a big club in Europe I'm going develop a 4-3-3 rule of 7 to play tiki-taka, keep it tight and short. I'll keep you all posted but anyway I would love to hear how you get on and if you successfully adapt the rule of 7 to a Spanish system.

You can thank me for my genius now

[mimisv]

could u make an excel sheet with your theory?

[iMan]

Why is there loads of 4-4-2 tactics in the pack?

[Googen]

could u make an excel sheet with your theory?

Not computer savvy, not even sure what an excel sheet is, he he.

[Googen]

Why is there loads of 4-4-2 tactics in the pack?

Like I said, my 4-4-2 system is based on moving the defensive line higher or lower based on the system you are playing against and also adjusting to the match score-line. It's all in the original post.

If you examine the tactics in the pack you'll notice that each one is set to a different defensive line. So, if you're faced with a 3-5-2 you would start with 4-4-2 Attacking (12). If you concede you would push up to 4-4-2 Attacking (13) and so on.

[iMan]

Like I said, my 4-4-2 system is based on moving the defensive line higher or lower based on the system you are playing against and also adjusting to the match score-line. It's all in the original post.

If you examine the tactics in the pack you'll notice that each one is set to a different defensive line. So, if you're faced with a 3-5-2 you would start with 4-4-2 Attacking (12). If you concede you would push up to 4-4-2 Attacking (13) and so on.

Oh right, Sorry.

Sounds like it would suit this FM seeming you cant really just plug and play anymore.

Would it be possible to take this approach in a 4-2-3-1?

[Googen]

Oh right, Sorry.

Sounds like it would suit this FM seeming you cant really just plug and play anymore.

Would it be possible to take this approach in a 4-2-3-1?

Absolutely but you should study how the 4-4-2 works first. You would have to tweak closing down and passing, etc. What value would your no.10 close down to for example? I have my two strikers chasing the ball constantly but that might not suit a lone striker. The instructions for the back four would remain the same though so you have a starting point.

Simply take your formation and break it into seven sections, ranked from 1 to 7 for mentality, passing and creative freedom.

[iMan]

Absolutely but you should study how the 4-4-2 works first. You would have to tweak closing down and passing, etc. What value would your no.10 close down to for example? I have my two strikers chasing the ball constantly but that might not suit a lone striker. The instructions for the back four would remain the same though so you have a starting point.

Simply take your formation and break it into seven sections, ranked from 1 to 7 for mentality, passing and creative freedom.

Alot of studying I think.

This looks cool though. I'll give it a bash on a lower league save when I get the chance.

[fella]

I would love to give this tactic a test but the original link is not working for me.

Can someone put up the tactic on another site? Much appreciated!

Thanks! Will report back with screenshots!

Eager to play now!

[oncescj]

download not work

[fella]

I'm still now able to download the tactic.

Can someone help to put it on a different sharing site other then game front please?

[dazbowski]

Can't download.

[William Hall]

I can't download it either, says access denied.

[fella]

Waiting for approval from Game Front. Uploaded it onto File Factory so it's in the queue. If anyone has any good file hosting sites for FM tactics post please.

Try www.mediafire.com

[Googen]

Try www.mediafire.com

Nice one. It's on mediafire now.

[fella]

Thanks googen!

[Googen]

I've added a variation of the system for those of you who don't have a bona fide target man in your squad or you simply prefer to use a no.10 who can drop off the front line and dictate play.

I use both systems depending on personell availability and form. In the Target Man system you'll notice that my right forward is a poacher who runs the channels. This tactic is designed to bombard the opposition box with lots of crosses and test them in the air. In the Support Striker system my right forward becomes a trequartista, dropping into the hole and taking control of the ball. If you wanted to create a hybrid system featuring a big centre-forward and a no.10 that's less dependent on crosses you would need to tweak each tactic in the set individually and save.

[Googen]

I'm beginning to think it's very risky to immediately switch to a higher line if you concede. I normally don't concede first so I haven't had much opportunity to test this side of the system but I'm in the Copa Libertadores for the first time and playing better teams. Best advice is not to push higher than your default tactic, even if you do concede. So if you're up against a 4-2-4 and you go a goal down stick with a defensive line of 15, only moving higher up the pitch if you're chasing the ball and the clock is ticking down.

Defensively, dropping slightly deeper when you go in front works a treat. The opposition always go more attacking and you can hit them on the break. First game of the Copa Libertadores and I thumped Vasco da Gama 3-1 when we were classed rank outsiders. Check your shot break-down analysis to see the number of quality chances you are creating compared to the opposition who are forced to shoot from difficult angles thanks to how well organised those two banks of four are.

[Googen]

After much testing I've altered the closing down instructions for my defense. My full-backs now close down to the same value as my centre-halves meaning my back four now defends as one unit. This is how a 4-4-2 functions in real life and I've noticed that I'm not being exposed down the channels nearly as often.

I no longer tell my target man to hold up the ball. The only players you want holding up the ball are creative types who need that extra second or two to make a killer pass. Your centre-forward will automatically use his physique if he has it and he'll move the ball quicker and earlier if he's not being instructed to hold it up. The obvious exception to this policy concerns centre-forwards like Benzema or Ibrahimovic who can play as target men and play killer balls.

I've updated both sets of tactics.

[Googen]

The ideal defensive line to start with seems to depend on your club's reputation. Also, as you win more trophies your club's reputation will increase and you may have to adopt a higher line as your default tactic. I always started with a 12/15 but after winning three league titles in a row I've had to adapt a 13/16 strategy. This re-evaluation seems to apply immediately upon winning any competition if it significantly impacts on your club's status. Pay attention to pre-match odds after winning any major competition.

[Googen]

When playing cup competitions that feature two-legged ties simply use the aggregate scoreline as a measure for your starting tactic, e.g. if you are leading 2-0 from the first leg, play two values lower than you normally would. The away goal only kicks in when the aggregate score is level.