The Chalkboard Diaries - THE DISCUSSION THREAD

[RTHerringbone]

Cleon, it is noticeable that against 4-2-3-1 and 4-1-2-2-1 formations that sometimes you specific man mark the wingers, and sometimes you don't.

What determines your approach here? Do you look at opposition assists before each game to see if there is a need to shut down the flanks?

[RTHerringbone]

Another question: you always mark wide players in a flat 4-5-1, but not usually other wide MC line players.

Is this just because you know they'll be picked up by your DWs anyway?

[Thunder88]

I'm just reading the Sheff Utd save game you did,cleon...superb read and appreciate all the help you've put into this..

I'm hoping some of this helps me too

[Cleon]

Cleon, it is noticeable that against 4-2-3-1 and 4-1-2-2-1 formations that sometimes you specific man mark the wingers, and sometimes you don't.

What determines your approach here? Do you look at opposition assists before each game to see if there is a need to shut down the flanks?

Yeah that helps. But if I think the player can cause me damage if not picked up, then I'll man mark them. I normally have a look at the wide players and see how technical they are as any AML/AMR will be positioned behind my DW's naturally. Now they will be picked up but if they are clever tricky players they need specific marking or they'd rip me to shreds.

Another question: you always mark wide players in a flat 4-5-1, but not usually other wide MC line players.

Is this just because you know they'll be picked up by your DWs anyway?

It is yeah

I'm just reading the Sheff Utd save game you did,cleon...superb read and appreciate all the help you've put into this..

I'm hoping some of this helps me too

Thank you

[Cleon]

Which bit would people like to see next? A bit like what had already been posted but for season 2? Or would people like to read about the tactic and how its evolved from the 352 to strikerless and then to a Libero?

It'll all get posted either way, its just what will keep people interested and posting?

[RTHerringbone]

Selfishly I'd like to read about the tactical evolution, but I assume that season two saw a switch in tactics anyway, so it'll be tactical anyway.

Season one was a great read and a great format, so I look forward to season two eagerly.

[Eastwood]

I'd love to see how you came about switching formations, and how the libero worked. Never had the courage to get a libero to work.

[karax268]

tbh I'm interested in both. But if I have to choose I guess it'd be the write up of season 2. Season 1 was very insightfull and I'm curious how you adapt to a stronger league

[vkastanas]

Season 2 and how did you cope with stronger teams!

[olivermain83]

A really excellent thread. I'm looking forward to seeing it develop further. I have a few questions if you don't mind.

1: In the Carlisle games (#8) you state that you felt you could beat them without changing your plans. You did win 1-0 but only had 3 shots on target and despite the 61% possession your team only made 1 key pass the entire match. Do you feel that you didn't set up as well as possible for that game and should have won more comfortably? Did their DM do too good of a job against you especially as most of your assists are from the area that he will operate in?

You drew against them in the away match with similar stats so it seems like a it could've been an issue.

2: You don't seem to approach playing against 442 the same way all the time. Sometimes you would push up and exploit middle, sometimes just exploit the middle, sometimes no shouts at all. What makes you decide which shouts are appropriate for each team you face playing 442?

3: Against Notts County (#17) you said you felt you sat too deep and perhaps should have changed to a Control strategy. Why use a change in strategy instead of using the shout push higher up? And in the opposite situation where you felt you left too much space in behind would you change to a more conservative strategy or would you use drop deeper shout?

Sorry for all the questions.

[Cleon]

as soneone mentioned before, why not repeat the same for season two and as tactics evole this will kind of give us both.

slightly unrelated, you didn't mention your team talks at all and it would be interesting how you deal with it as i often find it quite challenging keeping the team wanting to score each match and avoid complacency. in the end most of the times i lose a match because my strikers tend to get sloppy infront the goal. at least i see it that way.

I don't do team talks I leave it to the assistant. I don't particular care for them

[Cleon]

A really excellent thread. I'm looking forward to seeing it develop further. I have a few questions if you don't mind.

1: In the Carlisle games (#8) you state that you felt you could beat them without changing your plans. You did win 1-0 but only had 3 shots on target and despite the 61% possession your team only made 1 key pass the entire match. Do you feel that you didn't set up as well as possible for that game and should have won more comfortably? Did their DM do too good of a job against you especially as most of your assists are from the area that he will operate in?

You drew against them in the away match with similar stats so it seems like a it could've been an issue.

2: You don't seem to approach playing against 442 the same way all the time. Sometimes you would push up and exploit middle, sometimes just exploit the middle, sometimes no shouts at all. What makes you decide which shouts are appropriate for each team you face playing 442?

3: Against Notts County (#17) you said you felt you sat too deep and perhaps should have changed to a Control strategy. Why use a change in strategy instead of using the shout push higher up? And in the opposite situation where you felt you left too much space in behind would you change to a more conservative strategy or would you use drop deeper shout?

Sorry for all the questions.

1) Well the team aren't set to to do key passes as I don't have anyone who is that creative to be consistent. I'm set up more to take advantage of teamwork and movement above all else. So that stat isn't that important for me yet.

The main issue in both these games was the weather, it was drizzle and heavy rain iirc which means my slick passing movement didn't work which is expected. Plus I used Tunnicliffe on the right who doesn't get forward as much and is really weak for a winger. So this hurts my play too because he doesn't make the intelligent runs than my other RM does when he plays. I was always in control of the game and big scores aren't something I set out to do. I set out to be solid at the back and not lose the game rather than searching to win by as many as I can. This will be highlighted a lot more my first season in the Prem and you'll see how important this was for my success.

I still feel I set up the best I could have though and stuck to my plan and didn't stray from it.

2) It depends on who is playing. If I think the other team has better men for men in the wide areas or in the centre then I'll try and make up for that by the use of shouts and limit the damage. It also depends on who is actually playing in those roles for me. I don't exactly have a side that fit this style of play or tactic if you've ever had a look at the Sheff Utd squad. So I just make a decision and then stick to it and see how it plays. If it doesn't work you can always change it in game if needs be.

It's very hard to explain how or why sometimes as things become instinct after a while, you get to know what will happen before hand or know how something will work.

3) I felt I was controlling the game so rather than just push up, I think changing the strategy works better. In fact in 99% of cases I think a strategy change is more simple than changing just the d-line for example. The reason why is the strategy changes everything to work with that strategy. So you tend to keep the balance all round.

Keep the questions coming, I don't mind at all

[RTHerringbone]

Cleon, I've had some weird Away games recently where I am favourite to win (I'm by far the dominant team in La Liga) and even if I start on a Control Strategy (that's aggressive for me, I'm usually Standard or even Counter), I seem to lose the initial fight for highest Average Positioning and can never claw it back.

I fully understand that Attack isn't always the best form of Attack and that highest Average Positioning doesn't automatically equal success, but I'm surprised that in games where I know we are the better side, we are not complacent and are motivated, that the opposition can apparently control the defensive lines.

Is this anything you have ever experienced?

This is tenuously linked to olivermain83's third point. You felt you were in charge of a game and pushed up via a Strategy change. I'm seeing instances where this doesn't appear to swing the balance of a game, which implies that I've been out thought and out fought in terms of shape.

[olivermain83]

Thanks for the indepth response. I look forward to reading about the next couple of seasons when things will be a bit more testing.

[Cleon]

Cleon, I've had some weird Away games recently where I am favourite to win (I'm by far the dominant team in La Liga) and even if I start on a Control Strategy (that's aggressive for me, I'm usually Standard or even Counter), I seem to lose the initial fight for highest Average Positioning and can never claw it back.

I fully understand that Attack isn't always the best form of Attack and that highest Average Positioning doesn't automatically equal success, but I'm surprised that in games where I know we are the better side, we are not complacent and are motivated, that the opposition can apparently control the defensive lines.

Is this anything you have ever experienced?

This is tenuously linked to olivermain83's third point. You felt you were in charge of a game and pushed up via a Strategy change. I'm seeing instances where this doesn't appear to swing the balance of a game, which implies that I've been out thought and out fought in terms of shape.

As I rely on creating space and having runners, playing higher for me wouldn't be beneficial. If you need to create space and break sides down then I find deeper positioning better as it creates bigger space to work in and means the opposition can't stay compact when closing the ball down.

In his 3rd point I didn't actually change strategy and stuck to my guns. But in hindsight it would have worked better if I had changed strategy as it would have reduced the space Notts had to play in against me. At times I felt their striker and MC's had more space than I should have allowed. Sometimes that isn't an issue if you still feel you are controlling the game and the space/possession they have isn't hurting you.

If you use a DMC the D-line will always be naturally deeper against a side who doesn't use one, even if you push up as high as possible. In the games you've mentioned do they use a DMC?

Also whats your movement like? Are playing still trying to get between the lines etc?

[RTHerringbone]

As I rely on creating space and having runners, playing higher for me wouldn't be beneficial. If you need to create space and break sides down then I find deeper positioning better as it creates bigger space to work in and means the opposition can't stay compact when closing the ball down.

In his 3rd point I didn't actually change strategy and stuck to my guns. But in hindsight it would have worked better if I had changed strategy as it would have reduced the space Notts had to play in against me. At times I felt their striker and MC's had more space than I should have allowed. Sometimes that isn't an issue if you still feel you are controlling the game and the space/possession they have isn't hurting you.

If you use a DMC the D-line will always be naturally deeper against a side who doesn't use one, even if you push up as high as possible. In the games you've mentioned do they use a DMC?

Also whats your movement like? Are playing still trying to get between the lines etc?

The bold bit hits home for me, I'm probably doing something I shouldn't be again; I'm using a Strikerless formation (your fault! ) so am dependent on creating space for my three AMCs to move into. By pushing up I may be compressing that space unnecessarily.

The shapes I struggle most against in Spain are standard 4-2-3-1 (MCs, AML, AMC and AMR).

I don't use a DM, so in these games it is a question of who best nullifies the opposition AM line as I have three AMCs.

Your point "it would have reduced the space Notts had to play in against me. At times I felt their striker and MC's had more space than I should have allowed." - is this a bit of a vicious circle? By denying them space by pushing up, aren't you reducing the space in which your own team can thrive? If so, how can you break the deadlock in that sort of situation?

[Cleon]

The bold bit hits home for me, I'm probably doing something I shouldn't be again; I'm using a Strikerless formation (your fault! ) so am dependent on creating space for my three AMCs to move into. By pushing up I may be compressing that space unnecessarily.

The shapes I struggle most against in Spain are standard 4-2-3-1 (MCs, AML, AMC and AMR).

I don't use a DM, so in these games it is a question of who best nullifies the opposition AM line as I have three AMCs.

Your point "it would have reduced the space Notts had to play in against me. At times I felt their striker and MC's had more space than I should have allowed." - is this a bit of a vicious circle? By denying them space by pushing up, aren't you reducing the space in which your own team can thrive? If so, how can you break the deadlock in that sort of situation?

It can be a vicious cycle aye. But sometimes you have to sacrifice something to get the result you need. While it might have reduced the space my own side had to play in I don't think it would have badly hurt it in this scenario.

Sometimes you might find you need to actually change a players role (something I did often first season in the Prem) to find the space. Don't be afraid to change things if needs be. And don't be afraid to stick to your guns if you feel you are the better side. Sometimes when you search for that something extra it causes more problems. I see a lot of people post and at half time they panic and drastically change things. I believe you should treat any changes based on events that are happening in the game which makes each game unique.

[RTHerringbone]

It can be a vicious cycle aye. But sometimes you have to sacrifice something to get the result you need. While it might have reduced the space my own side had to play in I don't think it would have badly hurt it in this scenario.

Sometimes you might find you need to actually change a players role (something I did often first season in the Prem) to find the space. Don't be afraid to change things if needs be. And don't be afraid to stick to your guns if you feel you are the better side. Sometimes when you search for that something extra it causes more problems. I see a lot of people post and at half time they panic and drastically change things. I believe you should treat any changes based on events that are happening in the game which makes each game unique.

For info, another gap in my knowledge has been filled.

I was getting hung up looking at stats in isolation, especially the average positioning which is quite misleading and doesn't always tell you what you need to know.

My issue was pretty much exactly what you said - I was pushing too high in my bizarre search to dominate the average positions, and it was starving my AMCs of room to run and pass into.

Since reeling my Strategy selection back to what it always was, I have started to create space and opportunities again.

[Cleon]

For info, another gap in my knowledge has been filled.

I was getting hung up looking at stats in isolation, especially the average positioning which is quite misleading and doesn't always tell you what you need to know.

My issue was pretty much exactly what you said - I was pushing too high in my bizarre search to dominate the average positions, and it was starving my AMCs of room to run and pass into.

Since reeling my Strategy selection back to what it always was, I have started to create space and opportunities again.

Glad to have helped

[Cleon]

I'll be adding to the main thread over the next couple of days

Edit - I'll finish the transfer side of things sometime today, off out in a second

[RTHerringbone]

I'll be adding to the main thread over the next couple of days

Edit - I'll finish the transfer side of things sometime today, off out in a second

Rivaldo! Excellent.

[Cleon]

Rivaldo! Excellent.

On my Brazilian save with Paysandu, I managed to keep him until the age of 45

[RTHerringbone]

On my Brazilian save with Paysandu, I managed to keep him until the age of 45

I'm going to have to stop reading your threads and posts soon.

If you aren't prompting me to build new tactics, cull my strikers and retrain players' positions, you're tempting me to ditch my favourite save ever and start in the third or fourth tier for the first time in years. Damn you!

[Cleon]

I'm going to have to stop reading your threads and posts soon.

If you aren't prompting me to build new tactics, cull my strikers and retrain players' positions, you're tempting me to ditch my favourite save ever and start in the third or fourth tier for the first time in years. Damn you!

Tomtuck normally gets influenced too no matter how much he tries to ignore it

[Eastwood]

Some decent signings there Cleon. Midfield starting to look strong especially with Herd and Frimpong in there.

Nimely suprises me because all he basically has is speed and strength. Mentally poor, poor heading (although I assume his bravery, strength and jumping will make him win his fair share in the air), poor finishing and average composure and off the ball. Yet I see he has good non competitive goal record 10 goals in 5 games (could be down to you usually arranging weaker opponents), and made a promising start to campaign with 3 goals in 4. Is this purely down to the speed being too powerful an asset in the match engine do you think or you using him a special way?

[Mark.]

Nice update Cleon A pity you have to delay your striker-less formation, but adds an interesting turn.

[Fieldy_21]

Great signings for the level you are at Cleon, surprised you managed to get Frimpong, I bet he absolutely dominated your midfield for you this year. Real shame you couldn't go strikerless just yet. Am really intrigued how you set it up and get it to work, I have been really struggling to create one, especially without the exceptional type of players. Nimely's pace for you should be great outside the Prem. Your wingers look really good for this level too!

[Cleon]

Some decent signings there Cleon. Midfield starting to look strong especially with Herd and Frimpong in there.

Nimely suprises me because all he basically has is speed and strength. Mentally poor, poor heading (although I assume his bravery, strength and jumping will make him win his fair share in the air), poor finishing and average composure and off the ball. Yet I see he has good non competitive goal record 10 goals in 5 games (could be down to you usually arranging weaker opponents), and made a promising start to campaign with 3 goals in 4. Is this purely down to the speed being too powerful an asset in the match engine do you think or you using him a special way?

Speed isn't as important in the ME anymore since FM13 compared to previous versions, it was toned down a lot.

The reason he scored many in preseason though was due to playing poor opposition. As for his return so far it has been good so far but that's because he is getting a lot of chances in a game. He is having the chances created for him, all he has to do it put the ball away so far. His pace is great for latching onto through balls or running into space that is created by the DLF. He is seeing and using a lot of space.

[Cleon]

Nice update Cleon A pity you have to delay your striker-less formation, but adds an interesting turn.

Yeah I was gutted. I did adapt the 352 and change it slightly which i'll be posting about in the next day or so.

[Cleon]

Great signings for the level you are at Cleon, surprised you managed to get Frimpong, I bet he absolutely dominated your midfield for you this year. Real shame you couldn't go strikerless just yet. Am really intrigued how you set it up and get it to work, I have been really struggling to create one, especially without the exceptional type of players. Nimely's pace for you should be great outside the Prem. Your wingers look really good for this level too!

Frimpong is awesome, I honestly thought he'd not come and reject the chance but he didn't.

I've tried to improve every single area of the pitch and have been really lucky with the midfielders I've managed to get, which is the important part of how I play.

[RTHerringbone]

Morning Cleon, another question from me I'm afraid.

I'm considering a new save with a flat 3-5-2 and am conscious that this would need the MC line to offer support to the defence.

Your 3-1-4-2 essentially drops a MC back a stratum from the shape I'm thinking of.

Is the DM there to stop central runners, to stop anything the DWs miss, or a bit of both?

I'm wondering if I could achieve a degree of both with a CM (D), I would certainly use DWs.

[Cleon]

Morning Cleon, another question from me I'm afraid.

I'm considering a new save with a flat 3-5-2 and am conscious that this would need the MC line to offer support to the defence.

Your 3-1-4-2 essentially drops a MC back a stratum from the shape I'm thinking of.

Is the DM there to stop central runners, to stop anything the DWs miss, or a bit of both?

I'm wondering if I could achieve a degree of both with a CM (D), I would certainly use DWs.

I use a DM because in England I face a lot of sides who use a AMC, so it makes it a lot easier to pick them up. In Brazil I actually moved the DMC upto MC position as its rare that I faced an attacking midfielder.

[RTHerringbone]

I use a DM because in England I face a lot of sides who use a AMC, so it makes it a lot easier to pick them up. In Brazil I actually moved the DMC upto MC position as its rare that I faced an attacking midfielder.

Makes perfect sense as normal.

I think I'll make three variants of the same thing, a 3-4-1-2, a flat 3-5-2 and a 3-1-4-2.

I could just tweak the base setup, but I usually forget what I've done when I do that

[tomtuck01]

Just a quick quetion from me Cle.

Ive devised a new formation with defensive positions as follows; back three (Libero, two CB's), wingbacks, and a CM (DLP - Defend). Now playing in Spain I often face an AMC. Would it be wise to set my CM to man-mark the opposition AMC, or just leave the five defenders to deal wth that threat on their own accord?

I'm in the very early stages of this formation so far, (played just one game and that was against a 4-4-2 anyway), so I'd just like the input/thoughts of someone a bit more knowledgeable.

[Cleon]

Just a quick quetion from me Cle.

Ive devised a new formation with defensive positions as follows; back three (Libero, two CB's), wingbacks, and a CM (DLP - Defend). Now playing in Spain I often face an AMC. Would it be wise to set my CM to man-mark the opposition AMC, or just leave the five defenders to deal wth that threat on their own accord?

I'm in the very early stages of this formation so far, (played just one game and that was against a 4-4-2 anyway), so I'd just like the input/thoughts of someone a bit more knowledgeable.

What type of libero do you use? is he attack minded? He could be an option to mark the AMC.

But if you use a defensive minded CM in the side then if it was me, I'd use him as you don't lose anything then imo.

[tomtuck01]

What type of libero do you use? is he attack minded? He could be an option to mark the AMC.

But if you use a defensive minded CM in the side then if it was me, I'd use him as you don't lose anything then imo.

The Libero is on the Support duty, so perhaps don't want him stepping into the space the AMC is in.

The point of him being on "Support" in my mind, (as will be explained in greater detail in a thread I'm writing), is to basically have four players back at all times so we're not over exposed to counter attacks, as was happening with my previous set up. So we basically have three defenders in a line and the DLP - Defend just infront of them when we're attacking.

And now that I've thought about what I just said, I realise that the DLP - Defend will be in the pocket that the AMC operates in without being set to man mark.

[Cleon]

The Libero is on the Support duty, so perhaps don't want him stepping into the space the AMC is in.

The point of him being on "Support" in my mind, (as will be explained in greater detail in a thread I'm writing), is to basically have four players back at all times so we're not over exposed to counter attacks, as was happening with my previous set up. So we basically have three defenders in a line and the DLP - Defend just infront of them when we're attacking.

And now that I've thought about what I just said, I realise that the DLP - Defend will be in the pocket that the AMC operates in without being set to man mark.

Aye it was why I asked. If he was more attack minded then he'd be ideal for marking the AMC imo. But because you want him to do something more specific then the DLP is deffo the correct decision.

Can't wait to see you rip off....ermm I mean thread

[tomtuck01]

Aye it was why I asked. If he was more attack minded then he'd be ideal for marking the AMC imo. But because you want him to do something more specific then the DLP is deffo the correct decision.

Can't wait to see you rip off....ermm I mean thread

Ha no it's not that bad. I don't run through things game by game like you, just explain my initial tactic and how I saw the compnonents in it working, but then also why I wasn't happy with it/how I change it.

Only played one game with the ew tactic so far in all honesty, but I already got to see what I hoped/expected to.

[Cleon]

Ha no it's not that bad. I don't run through things game by game like you, just explain my initial tactic and how I saw the compnonents in it working, but then also why I wasn't happy with it/how I change it.

Only played one game with the ew tactic so far in all honesty, but I already got to see what I hoped/expected to.

Pfft you explained

Can't wait to read your thread, give me something to do and maybe inspire me to play FM again, not played for like 2 month

[RTHerringbone]

With variants of a back three, when you can use marking (whether zonal or man to man) to shut down the opposition, is there any inherent risk in marking both strikers in a front two?

If you consider you can use ML/R or WBL/R players to mark wingers, MCs to mark an AMC, the third DC would be spare in almost all circumstances. I can't recall ever reading about people doing this, is there a reason?

[tomtuck01]

Pfft you explained

Can't wait to read your thread, give me something to do and maybe inspire me to play FM again, not played for like 2 month

I doubt it'll inspire you. It's nothing revolutonary, just an explanation of process.

[llama3]

Using a back 3 has given us a fighting chance against relegation in my save with Tonbridge Angels in the Blue Square South (we still cannot score much - but we have a fighting chance)

[RTHerringbone]

I use a DM because in England I face a lot of sides who use a AMC, so it makes it a lot easier to pick them up. In Brazil I actually moved the DMC upto MC position as its rare that I faced an attacking midfielder.

Do you do similar against a 4-4-2 or similarly flat midfield with no AM?

Would you even use a 3-4-1-2 to take advantage of no opposition DM in formations where there's also no AM?

I'm beginning to think that a 3-1-4-2 and 3-4-1-2 cover all the bases very well.

[Cleon]

With variants of a back three, when you can use marking (whether zonal or man to man) to shut down the opposition, is there any inherent risk in marking both strikers in a front two?

If you consider you can use ML/R or WBL/R players to mark wingers, MCs to mark an AMC, the third DC would be spare in almost all circumstances. I can't recall ever reading about people doing this, is there a reason?

That's how I tend to play then the central defender can pick up any loose balls or the man if the defender gets beat.

Do you do similar against a 4-4-2 or similarly flat midfield with no AM?

Would you even use a 3-4-1-2 to take advantage of no opposition DM in formations where there's also no AM?

I'm beginning to think that a 3-1-4-2 and 3-4-1-2 cover all the bases very well.

I personally wouldn't as I only like to play 1 shape. However what you described above does work very well it just doesn't fit my playstyle that's why I don't use it.

[Cleon]

I'm back playing FM now so hopefully this means all of season two will be posted up over the next couple of days.

[Cleon]

I just posted this elsewhere but thought I'd put it in this thread rather than the main thread as its not that detailed and would ruin the order of the main thread;

This is the strikerless libero system that I've used across many saves;

Over the years its evolved from a standard 352 into this. This was always the plan though as I enjoy doing unusual things on FM it stops the boredom.

This is the first player I retrained to become the libero;

I know he's not ideal but my other youths are still too young and quite a bit away yet. Money has been an issue on this save so I've had to strengthen a lot of areas and not been able to just concentrate on the libero like I had hoped.

These are the sort of areas he passes in;

He has 5 key passes in 12 games so far this season.

However this season I did have a bit of cash and splashed it out on this fella;

He is a winger but he has all the atrributes required and his tackling and others that lack will get a nice boost this season once I start to develop him. He seems to have bags of potential so I can't wait to see him a few seasons down the line.

This is the kind of passes/numbers he usually does in a game;

So far this season he has 4 key passes in 10 games. Not bad considering he still isn't a libero yet is only awkward in the position.

I didn't expect them to get as many key passes as they have at the minute as they seem better suited for re-distributing possession and recycling it from the middle of the pitch.

[Cleon]

Shrew asked me how I set up against Man City as they use a narrow 4231, so I thought I'd add how I play them to this thread for discussions

These are my results against them so far;

These are my last 2 results against them;

The one above is from this season and was a lot closer than I would have liked but I did give debuts to 6 players and they've still not gelled properly yet with it been the Community Shield.

Now how I set up to beat them isn't that special. The first thing I do is identify the MC who will be the link up for the AMC's. They always play 1 more attacking than the other. So I then get my central MC to man mark him. This pushed my MC slightly further up the pitch to mark him and doesn't allow him to drop slightly deeper than normal but that doesn't matter imo.

The next thing I do is get my outer 2 MC's to man mark the other 2 AMC's. This should help them drop back when we don't have the ball and stop my back 3 been out numbered 4v3.

I'll start the game by using the shouts push higher up, so the gap between defence and midfield is reduced to give the AMC's less space to play in.

Play narrower so I stay compact in the middle as the narrow 4231 offers little down the wings.

Then I also use Exploit The Flanks – It gives the fullback/wingbacks and wingers more attacking and focuses the play down both flanks. It also tells them to run from deep and cross the ball more often. If you use central midfielders then it’ll tell them to hold up the ball.

That is all I do really and its been successful enough for me so far

[RTHerringbone]

How do you find these Libero candidates? Do you use filtered searches?

[Cleon]

How do you find these Libero candidates? Do you use filtered searches?

Sometimes. But I've built up a good scouting network after 6 years at the club, so 99% of the time I just rely on my scouts finding the players for me

[Cleon]

I might not carry on this thread, seems pretty pointless to continue doing it if its not been used by people or generating discussion (bar the odd poster RT etc). It's a lot of time to invest for such little discussion.