FM17 Help me make Conte's Chelsea 3-4-3

[RocheBag]

I just got my hands on the game and fired up my Chelsea save. I've holidayed all the pre-season and such just to get to the good stuff. Not going to play this save long-term, just want to focus on getting this tactic right. This is how I've set it up:

Luiz got injured in training, but Cahill suits the ball playing defender role well. Terry slots in.

The wingbacks have the get further forward and cross from byline PIs, Hazard and Pedro have roam from position.

Here's how our first match went, home to Stoke:

Both their goals came from free kicks, headed in by Ryan Shawcross. Those were there only two shots on target the entire game, so I'm not worried about the defense at all. Costa also had three 1 on 1s that were counted as half chances for some reason, he missed all three. Realistically it should have been 4-0, not 3-2.

Here's our average positions for the match. Compare this with the average positions for the 5-0 to Everton on Saturday:

Pretty bang on there. The central defender doesn't really drop back deeper than the other two, even with the cover duty. Hazard also should be a bit further forward, and Costa maybe a bit more withdrawn. Other than that it looks great.

Overall a very successful first match. The system feels and plays great. I'll keep playing and making small changes to see what happens.

[nasipepes]

On 11/4/2016 at 16:00, permanentquandary said:

As I understand it it's almost a 3-4-2-1, except the 2 play wide as inside forwards.

I'm looking for ideas for roles and duties with a standard balanced approach.

Defensive wingers (S or D?) or WM(D)? Centre mids pretty conservative like CM(D) and BBM(S) or BWM(S)? Two inside forwards on attack with F9?

here's my take, it worked just fine in FM15. i'm using Athletic Bilbao BTW and so far won 2 games and drew one with this formation.

actually you could play it with a flat 3-4-3, but when facing harder opposition, I tend to play safer and modify it mid-game to a 5-2-3 WB (the 2 wide midfielders dropped back as wingbacks). but for argument's sake let's just use a flat 3-4-3:

and to put it in context, i will discuss 3-4-3 implementation within Chelsea's 16/17 squad instead of Athletic's.

 

SK-D

CD(C), CD(D), CD(D): azpilicueta, david luiz, gary cahill

WM(S) or W(S), BWM(S), CM(D), WM(auto): willian, kante, matic, alonso

P(A), DLF(A), T(A): pedro, diego costa, hazard/oscar

the key to this system is that it was meant as a semi-possession-based formation (i said semi-possession because sometimes the left midfielder were licensed to spray early crosses and long-balls to the box which in turn made it a direct style) that could also counter-attacks really fast. you may notice the right-hand side of the formation is especially prone to attacks when Willian (or maybe Victor Moses) left his post to bombard the right flank, and that's mainly the reason Conte decided to field Kante and Azpilicueta in right-sided central midfield role and right-sided centreback role, respectively, as both possessed great speed and anticipation needed to cover this area.

ok, on to the lineup:

naturally he's a defensive-minded fullback, but since he's speedy and possessed good anticipation, bravery and composure, Conte converted him to a centreback that specialized in covering the flanks - FYI Guardiola used this same approach when he was still managing Bayern. it's almost fitting, and since i had long experimented with players like him as makeshift covering centrebacks, i could guarantee you he would do just fine in this role, provided he weren't facing against tall wingers as his height and jumping reach would be a problem. so, in theory, a wide target man would give him a bad day, but Branislav Ivanovic or Zouma will do the trick though.

if you wish to field David Luiz, bear in mind that he should be deployed in a strictly limited defender role, because of his poor composure, concentration, decision-making, and positioning. nevertheless physically he's a beast, so it would do him just fine against most premier league's tall and bulky forwards, but if i were you, i'd rather have Ivanovic or Zouma on this position.

for the left-sided centreback, you may field any centreback as long as he's tall.

Willian is IMO better choice than Victor Moses in the right midfield slot, and for greater degree of player instructions, i always field him as a wide midfielder (support). but to simplify things, you may deploy him as a winger, either it's support or attack, nevertheless, key instructions for this position would be get further forward, dribble more, and stay wider.

except for the low aggresion, Kante would certainly be an obvious choice for a supporting ball-winning midfielder. this position (other than right central defender) is vital, because when the right midfielder goes forward, the resulting space left behind him would be a problem if exploited, so good acceleration and anticipation is vital to any player deployed in this position.

the left central midfielder is reserved for Matic or Obi Mikel in the Chelsea Squad, being tall, adept with first touch and passing will complement nicely with good marking, tackling and positioning, in short set him to central midfielder (defend).

and for Alonso the left midfielder, did you notice that he's basically a slow but strong and dynamic fullback with decent dribbling and first touch? if you wishes to deploy another player, make damn sure that whoever he is, he should be built to defend (with good marking, tackling, positioning and work rate) as this position is basically a polar opposite of the right midfielder, and since he wouldn't get to have speedy players around him providing cover when he tries to get forward, he must know how to defend. key player instructions for him in wide midfielder (automatic) role would be: cross more often, cross from deep, run wide with ball, hold position, stay wider.

here's the poacher, and I strongly recommend Pedro for this role, as he will also dribbles a lot and if needed, should provide a decent cross to the box.

for the center forward, Diego Costa is an obvious choice. you may deploy him as Target Man or Advanced Forward, but I personally feel that his best role would be either False 9 or Deep-Lying Forward (Attack), because he will aim to be the focal point of attack and will happily provide through pass for his two companion strikers at the wing.

last but not least, the trequartista, and the spot should be reserved to either Hazard or Oscar. why trequartista? trequartista will sometimes drift wide or to the space between midfield and attack; if he chooses to drift wide, he would provide spaces to be exploited by Diego Costa and simultaneously draw defenders out of position to catch up to him, and if he chooses to drop deeper between the midfield and attack, he would surely act as a link for another build-up with the midfielders (most likely the marauding Alonso).

 

for the TI, from what i've seen so far, it's fair to say that Chelsea does not utilize a very fluid system, so i'd go for a control coupled with fluid setting against lesser opponents. but harder opponents must be treated with care, so go for a control and structured. key team instructions would be: retain possession, work ball into box, shorter passing, play out of defence, low crosses, stay on feet, and run at defence.

 

good luck and have fun trying my version, cheers!

[Hingis]

Spoiler

 

I'm a Chelsea FC fan and I would like testing and I hope it will succeed Conte's tactic since he has changed to 3-4-3 from the humiliating defeat at Arsenal ! 

[Lobaeux4]

11 hours ago, NORTZ said:

I still find that they stay slightly too wide when we have the ball and it seems to discourage the wingbacks from getting as far forward.

How do you have the wing backs set up?   I'm using CWB as their roles, with support for Alonso on the left and attack on the right with Moses.   I've experimented a bit with the PI of cut inside with ball, but haven't seen enough to make a decision on whether it's working or not.   I'm considering using a PI of cross from byline.   

 

Edited November 7, 2016 by Lobaeux4

[MorganGalahad]

On 06/11/2016 at 14:23, JNOUnited said:

This is what I am trialing at the moment, but of course this is being used in friendlies which aren't the best indication of whether a tactic is successful.

 

First game was pretty even against a Chinese side which I wasn't happy with. But I changed to control and saw much better results. Standard on Fluid saw the score at 51 minutes at 2-2. Then I went to control and won 4-2.

This is by far the closest to accurate I've seen so far!

Control/Fluid looks more like it and I think Matic and Kante are more Box to Box than Ball winning

[tremor]

20 hours ago, NORTZ said:

Well im playing this formation with a team in the conference so it doesn't matter if its a lower league side, although it is tough to find Wing backs at lower levels of play.

Got a .tac for it?

[iMan]

On 4/11/2016 at 08:00, permanentquandary said:

As I understand it it's almost a 3-4-2-1, except the 2 play wide as inside forwards.

I'm looking for ideas for roles and duties with a standard balanced approach.

Defensive wingers (S or D?) or WM(D)? Centre mids pretty conservative like CM(D) and BBM(S) or BWM(S)? Two inside forwards on attack with F9?

You used to be able to select the IF role in AMC in previous FMs.

I had a 3-4-2-1 with Napoli that had two IF in AMC. 

They got rid of it for AMC awhile back for some reason. 

[RocheBag]

17 hours ago, nasipepes said:

good luck and have fun trying my version, cheers!

This is a great post with lots of information, and no doubt a great tactic you have here.

I don't think it's very representative of Conte's Chelsea however. We definitely  don't play with three flat strikers, the wide mids definitely have to be defensive wingers, and the middle of the three centerbacks should be the one on cover.

Fantastic system however based on what you've said.

Edited November 7, 2016 by RocheBag

[iMan]

On 4/11/2016 at 08:00, permanentquandary said:

As I understand it it's almost a 3-4-2-1, except the 2 play wide as inside forwards.

I'm looking for ideas for roles and duties with a standard balanced approach.

Defensive wingers (S or D?) or WM(D)? Centre mids pretty conservative like CM(D) and BBM(S) or BWM(S)? Two inside forwards on attack with F9?

You used to be able to select the IF role in AMC in previous FMs.

I had a 3-4-2-1 with Napoli that had two IF in AMC. 

They got rid of it for AMC awhile back for some reason. 

[RocheBag]

Just now, iMan said:

They got rid of it for AMC awhile back for some reason. 

Because they added shadow striker.

[iMan]

3 minutes ago, RocheBag said:

Because they added shadow striker.

Does it perform in the same manner from AMC?

Ive never used it.

 

[Benoit2]

On 11/6/2016 at 20:31, RocheBag said:

Hazard and Pedro roles in terms of FM are absolutely AMC. Players in that position still get wide and work the channels plenty. Putting them at AMR and AML is not representative at all.

No.

In FM, formation is defensive positioning. Chelsea do not defend with Hazard and Pedro right in front of Matic and Kante. If you've tried it, there's no way you can claim this to be realistic, it looks very silly. Chelsea defend with Hazard and Pedro to the side of Matic and Kante. Since formation determines defensive position, there's no way you can play them at AMC.

I understand why people would think that, but that's because they're looking to replicate the attacking side with the formation. That's wrong. You replicate the attacking side with player roles, duties and PI's.

Give Hazard the AP role at AML and you'll see he defends to the left of Matic and in attack is far more in the centre than on the flank. You don't need an AMC position to achieve that. That's on top of the fact that Pedro and Willian most definitely spend a decent amount of time out wide. To replicate their narrow behaviour, give them an IF role with the PI sit narrow. Also throw your wing-backs forward and they'll allow Pedro/Willian to get inside further as the wing-backs occupy the flanks.

Kante and Matic both take turns moving up. If you want to replicate that, you can't give either one a defend role. They both must be on support. You don't really need a defend role anyway, as you've already got three central defenders on defend. In tough matches, you could choose to do so of course to be more solid defensively. It may very well be possible Conte will also do so in real life. But in the matches so far, both Matic and Kanté are on support.

[Amarante]

Okay guys so the tactic can be replicated. There is only one problem, The role that Hazard and Pedro have is not in FM. FM doesn't have a role that moves in the Half Space, which is not Central as a striker and not out wide as a Winger. The best role that i see replicate this is a Attacking Midfielder with Roam from Position and Move into Channel. 

 

F

[RocheBag]

3 hours ago, Benoit2 said:

No.

In FM, formation is defensive positioning. Chelsea do not defend with Hazard and Pedro right in front of Matic and Kante. If you've tried it, there's no way you can claim this to be realistic, it looks very silly. Chelsea defend with Hazard and Pedro to the side of Matic and Kante. Since formation determines defensive position, there's no way you can play them at AMC.

I understand why people would think that, but that's because they're looking to replicate the attacking side with the formation. That's wrong. You replicate the attacking side with player roles, duties and PI's.

Give Hazard the AP role at AML and you'll see he defends to the left of Matic and in attack is far more in the centre than on the flank. You don't need an AMC position to achieve that. That's on top of the fact that Pedro and Willian most definitely spend a decent amount of time out wide. To replicate their narrow behaviour, give them an IF role with the PI sit narrow. Also throw your wing-backs forward and they'll allow Pedro/Willian to get inside further as the wing-backs occupy the flanks.

Kante and Matic both take turns moving up. If you want to replicate that, you can't give either one a defend role. They both must be on support. You don't really need a defend role anyway, as you've already got three central defenders on defend. In tough matches, you could choose to do so of course to be more solid defensively. It may very well be possible Conte will also do so in real life. But in the matches so far, both Matic and Kanté are on support.

They absolutely defend wide when placed at AMC. They close down agressively and then track back and wide a little just like real life. 

You're right about Kante and Matic, as I stated before I have them both on DM-S.

[RocheBag]

46 minutes ago, Amarante said:

Okay guys so the tactic can be replicated. There is only one problem, The role that Hazard and Pedro have is not in FM. FM doesn't have a role that moves in the Half Space, which is not Central as a striker and not out wide as a Winger. The best role that i see replicate this is a Attacking Midfielder with Roam from Position and Move into Channel. 

 

F

Any AM role with roaming is going to have a lot of joy in the half space.  The best role for Hazard is shadow striker to replicate him IRL.

[RocheBag]

4 hours ago, iMan said:

Does it perform in the same manner from AMC?

Ive never used it.

 

Pretty much.

[Amarante]

1 hour ago, RocheBag said:

Any AM role with roaming is going to have a lot of joy in the half space.  The best role for Hazard is shadow striker to replicate him IRL.

Very True, at the moment, I have one working with atm with Kante and Matic with DM-S with PI get further forward when the team has the ball, Utter midfield dominance along with the two wingbacks and my two AMs. Going forward scoring loads of goals tight at the back a have only let in one goal and it was a mistake by mikel that led to it.

[Rashidi]

On 11/5/2016 at 09:06, Amarante said:

Heres the shape your looking. The Roles mentality and stuff should differ as 

I don't think Chelsea's two central midfielders sit as deep as DMs. You often see Kante linking play in the middle slightly higher. I am more inclined to think they play as central midfielders on d and s. As far as the two wingbacks go, its interesting. For one thing, you see a lot of movement from the right wingback in Chelseas system, more so than on the left. Hazard almost always starts from wide, so he is more of an APM out wide, he drifts in and this can be replicated in the current engine. I would change the front 3 as well.

[Rashidi]

10 hours ago, MorganGalahad said:

This is by far the closest to accurate I've seen so far!

Control/Fluid looks more like it and I think Matic and Kante are more Box to Box than Ball winning

This is the closest I see, but the two wingbacks don't have roam instructions, in Chelsea's system they are more rigid in their movement, sticking mostly to the flanks. I would change both to Wingbacks. Overall, my Chelsea replication looks closer to yours, however it has different roles

[James9]

I am going to try and set up a 343 with Arsenal. I just need to find a ball playing defender and a decent central midfielder. I can always put Ozil on the left wing as a APM he will cut inside and allow The Bellerin  Express to bomb Forward.

This is a great thread please keep this going because it is really making me think about trying different formations and building a team to play the way I want.

Radhidi coukd I ask what roles and duties you would recommend for the two CM. I was thinking of CM (s) and CM (D)

I was going to give the CM S some additional PI such as more risky passes and maybe hold position. The CM (D) was going to use play simple passes as a PI.

Would appreciate your feedback because you seem to know a lot about roles and duties.

[AlexcH]

Hi, everyone. 

I have read on this thread every day since it started. Very good thread, and very interesting. I have some questions, and need som guiding from you guys.

I tried to make a tactic ( for the first time in two years) from what people have posted here. 

So, here is the tactic. This is only a test game where i try to find a tactic to play. This tactic is not created by me, I have just tried to read everything people have said on this thread and mixed it together.  

As you can see, the team really struggle, as I always change something when I'm not feeling they are playing any good. The familiarity of the tactic is not full, so I can tell that maybe is a problem. I have change the tactics many times... 

The problem here is that i dont know what to do with the tactic when I play away, against better teams or weaker teams. Should i change something every match? How is it my team dont deliver better? I just need some tips, hehe.

I am a Chelsea fan, I really love the Conte tactic, and have always done that, since he managed Juventus, so i really want tips from you guys to make this tactic work.

I really appreciate feedback on the tactics, and tips on how to win more games and be a better football manager. 

Thanks, and sorry for the bad english.

 

 

Edited November 8, 2016 by AlexcH

[mhaffy]

In my take on 3-4-3 I play Hazard as AML as AP(A) with my AMR as IF(S) - both set to sit narrower. Both my wing backs set to attack combined with stay wider. Seems to work pretty well with Alonso performing really well and Hazard roaming, playing centrally a lot etc and creating/scoring. Costa as DLF(A) netting plenty so far.

[smajliss]

Thats how Chelsea formation looks when defending.

So why some of you sets Pedro and Hazard to AMC position? They are obviously on the wings when defending.

 

Edited November 8, 2016 by smajliss

[AlexcH]

5 minutes ago, smajliss said:

Thats how Chelsea formation looks when defending.

So why some of you sets Pedro and Hazard to AMC position? They are obviously on the wings when defending.

 

I see. So what would be the right formation/ player roles and instructions?

[smajliss]

I agree with this formation (it is a picture of user JNOUnited) . But like Rashidi said, Alonso and Azpillicueta should be Wingbacks. And the central midfielders are probably not BWM, but Central Midfielders (D,S)

 

Edited November 8, 2016 by smajliss

[Frank27]

Shouldn't Diego Costa be a DLF(A)? His main role in the team is to hold the ball up to allow the rest of the team to move into attacking positions, and he's one of the best in the world at it. He does also play on the shoulder of the last defender at times, which is why he has an attack duty. Also the "drop deeper" TI might help create the 5-4-1 formation that Chelsea uses in defense against strong teams.

[nasipepes]

19 hours ago, RocheBag said:

I don't think it's very representative of Conte's Chelsea however. We definitely  don't play with three flat strikers, the wide mids definitely have to be defensive wingers, and the middle of the three centerbacks should be the one on cover.

Fantastic system however based on what you've said.

yup, what you've said about mine not a very realistic representative of conte's was very spot on. TBH i was just trying to emulate conte's 3-4-3 lineup-wise, which features azpilicueta as right-sided centreback and moses as right wingback (or in my case, willian as right midfielder).

actually, my decision of using side midfielders instead of wingbacks was featured only in some matches where i needed them to overlap rightaway against weaker teams and i've stated earlier that against harder opponents i tend to use wingbacks. TBH i don't really like the idea of using defensive wingers because IMO they're somewhat restricted in terms of tweaking with PIs; when i use wide midfielder (automatic) role instead, i got a pretty much total control over player instructions role-wise, so i could, in theory, instruct moses (or willian in my case) to dribble less instead of dribble more or execute move into channels as much as possible for example. this is only a matter of preference and adapting them to changing circumstances though 

6 hours ago, smajliss said:

Thats how Chelsea formation looks when defending.

if you notice the 5-man defense and the position of hazard and pedro when defending, the actual formation would be 5-2-2-1 WB Wide instead of flat 3-4-3 like the one i had. believe it or not, this was the first formation i tested in order to emulate conte's, but i couldn't seem to get them as offensive and explosive as its real-life counterpart, so i decided to field 3 forwards instead and made it 3-4-3 (or 5-2-3 WB in some occasions) to make it a tad attractive. yup, like i said earlier, not a very realistic representative of conte's recent 3-4-3, but maybe the naming would at least be similar (my 3-4-3 against conte's 3-4-3).

 

thank you for the feedbacks though! 

Edited November 8, 2016 by nasipepes
forgot to bold some words and fixed some grammatical errors, again

[pilif25]

I feel like the best way to preserve the 541 in defence and maintain the offensive potential would be to play with very attacking wingbacks, but as for Hazard and Pedro/Willian, to put them in the AM or Striker strata and give some specific man marking duties. Can't see any better solution until Football Manager allows us to define offensive and defensive behaviour (almost) independently in one tactic. 

[Benoit2]

16 hours ago, RocheBag said:

They absolutely defend wide when placed at AMC. They close down agressively and then track back and wide a little just like real life. 

It's still wrong. In real life they don't just defend wide a little. Their defensive positioning in real life is wide by default, not ahead of Kanté and Matic. Aggressive closing down can then push them more forward in real life. By putting them at AMC, you're doing the exact opposite. You're asking them to defend ahead of Kante and Matic by default and only defend wide when closing down aggressively.

What if you don't want to close down aggressively, but simply want to defend with a bank of four ahead of a defensive five? You won't get that by placing them at AMC.

I repeat again, formation is defensive positioning first and foremost. Chelsea defend in 5-4-1 when pushed deeper (like in the screenshot posted earlier). Using formation as your attacking positions and then trying to use roles/PI's to replicate defensive behaviour is not how the match engine works. And as such, just doesn't make any sense imo. Especially since you can easily recreate a big part of the attacking movement from AMR/L.

This is what defending with two AMC on support looks like:

This is what defending with AMR/L on support looks like:

Getting AMR/L narrow in attack is easy:

[Ceching You Out]

7 hours ago, smajliss said:

I agree with this formation (it is a picture of user JNOUnited) . But like Rashidi said, Alonso and Azpillicueta should be Wingbacks. And the central midfielders are probably not BWM, but Central Midfielders (D,S)

 

Another vote for this shape; this looks like it gets everyone in the right position defensively.

--BWM might not be the right role for both the CM; they aggressively close down high up the pitch but are more content to drop in when in their own half.
--Costa isn't really an AF(a) in this system. When Chelsea gain position he's rarely on the shoulder of the deepest defender. Instead he's frequently dropping deep to receive a pass, immediately lay it off to one of the wide players, and then get back forward. A toss-up for me if that's best represented as a DF(a) or CF(a/s).
--Unsure on the CWB vs WB. @Rashidi, what was your rationale for going with WB?

 

2 minutes ago, Benoit2 said:

It's still wrong,. In real life they don't just defend wide a little. Their defensive positioning in real life is wide by default, not ahead of Kanté and Matic. Aggressive closing down can then push them more forward in real life. By putting them at AMC, you're doing the exact opposite. You're asking them to defend ahead of Kante and Matic by default and only defend wide when closing down aggressively.

What if you don't want to close down aggressively, but simply want to defend with a bank of four ahead of a defensive five? You won't get that by placing them at AMC.

I repeat again, formation is defensive positioning first and foremost. Chelsea defend in 5-4-1 when pushed deeper (like in the screenshot posted earlier). Using formation as your attacking positions and then trying to use roles/PI's to replicate defensive behaviour is not how the match engine works. And as such, just doesn't make any sense imo. Especially since you can easily recreate a big part of the attacking movement from AMR/L.

Very much this. Pedro and Hazard sometimes close down aggressively (depending on opponent), but otherwise drop to the wings on defense the longer Chelsea is out of possession. They sit a little bit forward compared to a 5-4-1, mostly occupying the space and occasionally closing down when it might spark a counter. AML/AMR is probably the right place for that behavior.

[AlexcH]

What kind of team instruction is the best suited for this tactic? 

[drigaco]

One thing I notice in the Chelsea matches is that the wingbacks don't do a lot of crosses from the byline, I don't know if you mentioned it already, but Moses cuts inside a lot with the ball and Alonso passes to Hazard and makes the run to open space, I don't know if you agree or not.

Edited November 8, 2016 by drigaco
Mispell

[Lordluap]

Quick question on this... how are people finding the back 3?  I have 2 tactics on the go, very similar.  One a back 4 with a very attacking RWB - creating a back 3, the other a normal back 3.  

 

When i switch to the back 3 the AI seems to play a LOT of excellent through balls or balls over the top, Messi-esque assists - even when they are second division teams in Peru.

 

Others thoughts?

[AlexcH]

I have the same problem as you Lordlaup. The opposition plays trough balls, and i concede goals. As you can se under, I have change the formation to user JNOUnited created, and change some position roles. The first four matches after the change was a big sucsess, but then i met Hull away, and bot smashed. HELP? 

[Lordluap]

This is my answer...

[Lordluap]

And on pitch...

[pilif25]

That's my take on it. 

1) Having a sweeper makes the back 3 stay narrower than a flat 3 CBs, so we don't get destroyed by 2-strikers formations.

2) Strikerless gives that very deep defensive position + very nice link up play from our "striker".

3) Volland as an IWB to emulate Moses' cut-inside-movement. Wendell more conservative (Marcos Alonso).

4) Double AP on the wings so we play to them quickly AND FREQUENTLY. They also have "sit narrower" to give us that halfspace penetration.

 

[saihtam]

11 hours ago, drigaco said:

One thing I notice in the Chelsea matches is that the wingbacks don't do a lot of crosses from the byline, I don't know if you mentioned it already, but Moses cuts inside a lot with the ball and Alonso passes to Hazard and makes the run to open space, I don't know if you agree or not.

This could be handled if wing backs have PPM to cut in from their side, just like wingers have. It would be interesting to see how this would affect them. 

[JNOUnited]

On 11/7/2016 at 18:57, MorganGalahad said:

This is by far the closest to accurate I've seen so far!

Control/Fluid looks more like it and I think Matic and Kante are more Box to Box than Ball winning

 

On 11/8/2016 at 10:12, smajliss said:

I agree with this formation (it is a picture of user JNOUnited) . But like Rashidi said, Alonso and Azpillicueta should be Wingbacks. And the central midfielders are probably not BWM, but Central Midfielders (D,S)

 

 

19 hours ago, Ceching You Out said:

Another vote for this shape; this looks like it gets everyone in the right position defensively.

--BWM might not be the right role for both the CM; they aggressively close down high up the pitch but are more content to drop in when in their own half.
--Costa isn't really an AF(a) in this system. When Chelsea gain position he's rarely on the shoulder of the deepest defender. Instead he's frequently dropping deep to receive a pass, immediately lay it off to one of the wide players, and then get back forward. A toss-up for me if that's best represented as a DF(a) or CF(a/s).
--Unsure on the CWB vs WB. @Rashidi, what was your rationale for going with WB?

 

Very much this. Pedro and Hazard sometimes close down aggressively (depending on opponent), but otherwise drop to the wings on defense the longer Chelsea is out of possession. They sit a little bit forward compared to a 5-4-1, mostly occupying the space and occasionally closing down when it might spark a counter. AML/AMR is probably the right place for that behavior.

Great to see my take on the defensive formation getting some support. I've been working on the formation in my spare time outside of my YT Man Utd save and I'm struggling with the through balls and counter attacks that catch my team off guard with only three at the back. I've brought in Manolas as a faster CB to attempt to help with this but it's still happening. I'm going to take some of this feedback on board and see how it does in game today.

[shaivn]

i tested my 3 4 3, it worked well! u can do some optimize

[HullCity1904]

I concede most of my goals from crosses. Looking at some of these formations, surely many other do too?

Edited November 9, 2016 by HullCity1904

[Fosse]

19 minutes ago, HullCity1904 said:

I concede most of my goals from corners. Looking at some of these formations, surely many other do too?

What does formation have to do with defending corners?

[HullCity1904]

33 minutes ago, Fosse said:

What does formation have to do with defending corners?

Sorry I meant crosses.

[drigaco]

16 hours ago, Lordluap said:

And on pitch...

But then you don't defend as 5-4-1 or even 5-2 when the strikers don't want to defend.

[Honnan7]

Decided to make a 3-4-3 tactic as i always use a 4-2-3-1, started off slow as the players get used to it but think its coming together quite good now. I went on holiday for the league cup defeat so not bothered about that defeat tbh, not planning on staying chelsea just want to try the 3-4-3 with them any suggestions or advice to make better and what teams to try this on?

[Walrus]

2 hours ago, Honnan7 said:

Decided to make a 3-4-3 tactic as i always use a 4-2-3-1, started off slow as the players get used to it but think its coming together quite good now. I went on holiday for the league cup defeat so not bothered about that defeat tbh, not planning on staying chelsea just want to try the 3-4-3 with them any suggestions or advice to make better and what teams to try this on?

Why are you taking photos of your screen?

 

just use the screenshot function

[Honnan7]

Wasn't aware of that 

[CaBola1977]

Have just got my dream job at Everton in 2019 after they lost 3 games in a row at the start of the season and conceded 9 goals without scoring

the team is predicted to finish 10th so going to be a tough season.

And even though I am a life long Everton fan, after watching the destruction of my team at the weekend by Chelsea I was impressed with the style of play and aimed to replicate in FM

 

The tactic

Average positions

Early days so far but looking positive, but I don't feel the IF are in the game enough and seems to have and issue that either keeps a clean sheet or the opposition score from every shot ,so needs to be tweaked slightly

Results so far and with a team on rock bottom morale

3-0

2-0

1-0

2-2

2-0

1-2 (was a tough game v Swansea because funes mori was sent off after 35 seconds still managed 63% possession but just couldn't put the ball in the net)

Also have this running on a Spanish lower league team (Lugo now in second division b1)

2-0

2-0

1-0

1-0

2-2

2-0

2-1

below shows the match stats from a 2-0 lugo win shots good chances and a very high number of passes against the team expected to finish 3rd in the league

Lugo are predicted to come top though, but did lose almost all of their best players when relegated

Edited November 9, 2016 by CaBola1977

[TheMartello]

4 minutes ago, CaBola1977 said:

Have just got my dream job at Everton in 2019 after they lost 3 games in a row at the start of the season and conceded 9 goals without scoring

the team is predicted to finish 10th so going to be a tough season.

And even though I am a life long Everton fan, after watching the destruction of my team at the weekend by Chelsea I was impressed with the style of play and aimed to replicate in FM

 

The tactic

Average positions

Early days so far but looking positive, but I don't feel the IF are in the game enough and seems to have and issue that either keeps a clean sheet or the opposition score from every shot ,so needs to be tweaked slightly

Results so far and with a team on rock bottom morale

3-0

2-0

1-0

2-2

2-0

Also have this running on a Spanish lower league team (Lugo now in second division b1)

2-0

2-0

1-0

1-0

2-2

2-0

below shows the match stats from a 2-0 lugo win shots good chances and a very high number of passes against the team expected to finish 3rd in the league

Lugo are predicted to come top though, but did lose almost all of their best players when relegated

Team instructions/Player instructions?

[CaBola1977]

Enclosed the tactic so you can view

Chelsea 3-4-3.fmf