English Old Fashioned Wideplay - in 2016

[kingjericho]

This is a reprise of the thread on the same subject from 2013.

There is no style that I enjoy more than a fast, direct play like this, with two wide mids running up and down, and two lads in the centre taking care of midfield. Up front, a classic size/pace combo to finish off attacks. The closest, most recent real life example off the top of my head is Tottenham under Redknapp. That team was a joy to watch.

Last year and this year as well, this approach has not produced entirely convincing results. the attack is not as prolific as it one would expect it to, and even huge underdogs can exploit the counter attack with relative ease.

With that said, the objective of this thread is to analyze this setup in more detail. (unfortunately the old thread starts discussing completely different setups)

I'll be using teams with different expectations to see if there is any noteceable difference, and will present an overall of the tactic, TIs, and players used.

The tactic

Philosophy: Fluid

Strategy: Attacking

Adjustments: Heavier Tackling, More Direct, Less Roaming

Roles/Duties:

GK/D

FB/S

LD/D

LD/D

FB/S

MR/A

MC/D

MC/S

ML/A

TM/S

P/A

Aggressive shouts: Get Ball Forward, Hit Early Crosses, Push Higher Up, Play Wider, Pass into Space

Cautious Shouts: Retain Possession, Drop Deeper, Play Narrower, Pass to Feet

Very simple setup, some TIs are worded differently in FM16 but the point remains.

I already used this setup this year so I have an idea of some things that work better but I'll start with the original suggestion and work from there.

[kingjericho]

Test #1: Sporting CP

Sporting is one of the portuguese 'big three'. We are expected to challenge for the league title, so naturally most teams will face us with a cautious approach.

The squad:

for this tactic it's important to have a physically strong squad, I'd say apart from the wingers and the poacher, the other players must have good physical stats in get the best out of this tactic.

GK/D - Rui Patrício - standard keeper.

FB/S - João Pereira - the full backs are expected to support the wingers but also to keep it simple when defending. João Pereira could have better physical stats, and a lot more height, but he's still a good choice.

LD/D - Paulo Oliveira - the centre backs are expected to be tall and strong, regardless of if they can pass a ball to save their life.

LD/D - Naldo - he fits the mold of the required centre back, just lacks a bit overall quality.

FB/S - Jefferson - again an attack minded full back, but still has decent defensive and physical stats so he is a viable option.

WM/A - André Carrillo - I'm going with WM instead of W as I want them to put in crosses but also to keep the second bank of 4 relatively solid.

CM/D - Adrien - the best option for this position is starts the game with a 3 month injury, so I0m going with a player who is very hard working.

CM/S - Alberto Aquilani - for this role I think of a player that can help the strikers and also the defense. I want strong physical stats, work rate, and the ability to put good passes to the wingers and the forwards.

WM/A - Bryan Ruíz - he's not as fast as I would like but he has great feet and will put in some nice crosses.

TM/S - Islam Slimani - this tactic demands a lot from the target man, he needs to have the quality to hold up the ball, link up play with the wingers and help the poacher.

P/A - Teo Gutierrez - for this role I want a player that knows how to score. Pace, off the ball, and finishing is what I'm looking for.

Sporting has a squad that fits this style well. The expectation is to win the first 7/8 out of 10 matches. I won't be using OIs because I want to see where the tactic can be tweaked to get the best out of it.

[kingjericho]

reserved for match analysis

[JDRP]

I'm subscribing to this as I'm looking to set up a 442 as well. I'm a Man Utd fan and missing the old days.

Not decided which team to take over yet. United would require quite a few transfers to get it right I fear as no natural wingers/wide mids. I'll investigate when I get home, but open to suggestions on starting club based on what I'm looking to do.

Here's what I've been drawing this morning during an otherwise very productive work day.

Flat 442 formation

Mentality - Attack.

Shape - structured.

Player roles and profile

GK - GKd - Any good keeper, ideally strong rushing out skills as I won't be playing deep. #

RB - FBa - Above all needs to be a good defender, high stamina and have a good cross.

CB - CDd - Strong, quick ability to tackle and good in the air. Ideally have the technique and passing to play BPD so they are comfortable in possession.

CB - CDd - Strong, quick ability to tackle and good in the air. Ideally have the technique and passing to play BPD so they are comfortable in possession.

LB - FBs - More defensively minded than RB, but still able to cross.

RM - WMs - Pace and dribbling are a bonus, but mainly focussed on passing, crossing, teamwork, work rate.

CM - B2Bs - Great stamina, tackling, passing and can finish.

CM - BWMd - Stamina, work rate, teamwork, tackling, aggression, bravery

LM - Wa- Great pace, dribbling, passing, finishing and crossing. ideally good work rate and team work too.

ST - AFa - strong, fast, finishing, composure, off the ball, heading, anticipation.

ST - DLFs - passing, vision, dribbling, finishing, strength, anticipation.

Attacking plan being to attack down the wings. When we attach the right wing; FBa, WMs and B2b link up in a triangle. When we attack the left wing Wa has the option to run down the wing or play into DLFs.

Team instructions (I'm not on FM right now so may miss some)

Wide

Normal tempo (adjust according to game situation)

Play from the back

Mixed passing

Play down both flanks

Hit early crosses

Player instructions (incomplete as can't remember all options, this will be edited later)

GK - distribute to RB.

RB - Get forward when attacking

LB - stay narrow

LM - dribble more

AF - move into channels

DLF - roam from position

Ideal PPM's

CB - stay back

B2B - gets into opposition area, shoots from distance (if has excellent long shot rating), dictates tempo,

BWM - stay back, short simple passing game

RM - switches ball to other flank

LM - runs down the left, hugs left touchline

AF - breaks offside trap, gets in opposition area, first time shots, moves into channels

DLF - comes deep to get ball

I'll put this together tonight or tomorrow and make edits as needed. I would appreciate any thoughts before hand too.

Hopefully we can both get a good traditional 442 set up @Kingjericho.

[shaunwwfc]

It was my original thread back then so obviously I have a keen interest.

The tactic back then was very successful. There is nothing better than a good old fashioned british set up, for me.

I am just not sure how consistent it can be in FM and even in RL for that matter. It would be interesting to see wwfan's thoughts on this in FM16, I would love a response from him.

[kingjericho]

Glad you've found this thread. Indeed this style of play is something I always try to implement, unfortunately it's not easy in this version (and last year's too). Hope this can get some attention as it is a nice change of pace from all the possession oriented tactics we see around here.

[higgins]

Glad you've found this thread. Indeed this style of play is something I always try to implement, unfortunately it's not easy in this version (and last year's too). Hope this can get some attention as it is a nice change of pace from all the possession oriented tactics we see around here.

Use wingers, not wide midfielders, wm's are for sissies!

[kingjericho]

So the first test confirm my suspicions about this working or not...

In what is designed to be a high scoring, high conceding tactic, we neither score or concede many. The target man only has 2 scored in 10 games.