BJT-SAF442.99-20.3 (x2ver) / FM20 / FCP- ECL Winners / BVB - Domestic Double / Benevento - Record Points Serie B

[BJT]

BJT-442.99-20.3 Patch

**Updated to two versions**

(Original is on attacking mentality, for teams superior to opponents) - tested FCP, BVB, Benevento, Liverpool (title / european expectations)

(Second is on balanced mentality but attacking emphasis remains, for teams less superior aiming to exceed expectations) - tested Aston Villa (avoid relegation expectations)

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Hi all. This is an updated version of my 442 based on the original created on the Beta. It worked well at all levels of football until the last significant patch where being punished by long balls over the top became the norm.

I have tried to since tweak the tactic to work as well as it can on the latest patch. And any testers would be appreciated with different sides / leagues, as I have tested only so far with the objective of winning a Champions League with FC Porto 3^rd season in. This I did beating PSG, Real, and Liverpool in the final.

 

Style

My 442 has always been designed to be used at all levels, with the aim of playing the old Man Utd Fergie way and more to the front foot. So watching games should be fun, though with todays football you may lack possession vs those sides orientated in controlling the game.

It's quick tempo with Scholes and Keane bossing the midfield, balls whipped into the box from both pacey wingers and supporting full-backs for the poacher Van Nisterlrooy to attack, with Rooney dropping deep and to disrupt any opposing DMC in place.

A ball-playing centre back in Ferdinand to be able to play out from the back with composure, and Schmeichael the keeper with all forms of quick distribution as another form of the team’s offense.

My main change from the previous version was changing time wasting from never to sometimes. United would always look to score a second goal on the break to kill off games.

However the patches no longer made this a viable method, and so this has been now changed to sometimes, which seems to have improved solidity and the ability to grind out a result.

 

Requirements

It plays on the attacking mentality with a high line and line of engagement. So you’ll need a hard working side, with a fast back-line and capable Sweeper Keeper if you want to remain solid at the back.

The ability to counter-attack in the 442 is highly important. So make sure you have pace down the flanks too, and ideally a fast front line also, with a creative deep lying forward and lethal finisher.

 

Other Info

I play on FM Touch and I set the training type to “Attacking”

I also aim to promote compactness when defending by showing all opposing flanks players foot towards the touchline under the “Opposition Instruction”.

Set Pieces, full backs take the throws and your best set piece take for the rest (no exploits)

I had also spent a good while trying to be solid from set-pieces. This has remained the same since the beta, and still looks to be quite solid conceding just 2 corner goals in the last 50 matches (or 0 in all domestic league games).

 

Screenies

Here are some screenies from my Porto save 3^rd year in. 

I'll probably look to test a little more in due course, but any feedback in the mean-time would be great and helpful.

 

BJT-442.99-20.3.fmf

BJT-442-bal-20.fmf

Edited March 10, 2020 by BJT

[BJT]

BVB Test - Season 1 / League & Cup Double

My second test I decided to play in the Gegenpressing league in the very competitive Bundesliga rather than the contrasting slower more possession orientated Portuguese league.

I chose Dortmund as the majority of the squad could adapt to the system, with a few squad additions needed for greater depth and a strike partner for Haaland. Although not as geared as my Porto side was to play this system extremely proficiently i.e. a slow Hummels at centre-back, or a player to fill the deep lying forward role naturally, there should be enough quality to make a fist of it first season.

Europe was a write off this year, and we had a number of injury problems especially in centre of defence where our only real quick centre back of quality Akanji missed a substantial number of games. Sancho missed even more so. A lot of problems at left back as well, so our back- line changed a lot especially with WInter signing Onana an upgrade to Keeper Burkl. But despite the failings here, domestically we ruled supreme.

We won the Bundesliga by 11 points, achieving the best defence and best attack in the league and also won the German Cup.  I thought we did very well to keep our consistency in the league when forced to play Zagadou . Highlight results included an 8-0 home win vs Paderborn and a 6-0 home win vs Fortuna Dusseldorf. 

 

 

Edited March 6, 2020 by BJT

[BJT]

Benevento / Serie B Winners (93 pts, league record), Coppa Italia - Semi Finalists

This time around I've gone to the most tactical league in Italy and outside the Top Tier.

Benevento have a decent squad to play this system well with the highest expectations of promotion by winning the league a must, so the pressure would be on. I only brought a 20 year old left back starter as they didn't have a natural left back to start with. 

Season went extremely well. Comfortably winning the Serie B by 26 points from 2nd place, top scoring and having the meanest defence. We also smashed the Serie B points record that was previously 86 by Palermo. And an excellent cup run resulted in two away wins vs Serie A opposition before the Romans with superior quality won comfortably.

Overview

The system was designed to be plug n play as it emulates a particular style of football. It can punch above its weight, and also meet high expectations of needing to win. The time it probably isn't best used is when you are a real underdog against vastly superior opposition - which is logical, and a parking the bus tactic would be most suitable in this scenario.

Otherwise this system should be suitable for both working up all the divisions, and also winning the hardest of competitions. As long as your players suit the system, there shouldn't be much of a need to tweak anything in game, in order to maintain the quick tempo / attacking football and let the opposition worry about what you can do, rather than react to the opposition.

[BJT]

Premier League Testing - Additional Balanced System

**Tactic available on first post**

It wouldn't be right to not test in the English Premiership. Originally I tested the pure attacking football version with Villa. Aiming to avoid relegation but expected to go down, I wanted to see whether attacking football would be enough to keep the side up. The resounding answer was no. Too exposed at the back, not enough quality to make our chances count. And so I decided to try create an adjusted version to keep the Villians up.

A Balanced Mentality, but still on the offensive

I wanted to keep my attacking principles to the core, but instead of playing aggressively with a "we'll score more than you" approach, the idea of the balanced mentality was to be less vulnerable and super offensive when in possession / and less exposed when the ball was lost. But when in possession to still look a threat whilst playing some good football in the opposing third, and being a threat on the break.

Teams won't sit back against Villa, so there is no need to play the riskier ultra aggressive approach needed to try win the ball back quickly and break down stubborn park the bus defences.

The system still will push full-backs on to support the wingers, but the defensive line is deeper and our pressing less urgent. This should result in more counter-attacking opportunities for the side, however we'll likely need to defend for longer periods in a game.

I always create for plug and play simply due to time. So the aim of this system was simply to steer Villa to Premier League safety by hitting the magical 40 points safety mark, in the hope the balanced mentality would work well against the sides that would surround us / and be of mid-table ish standard.

And this worked as hoped for. We ended up on 46 points in the end around the mid-table area. We did poorly against the better sides in the division. So if you really want to tweak things for those matches a cautious created system would bring the best results.

I believe this approach should like the original, work well in all leagues. But it may be best suited to those sides expected to finish in the lower half of the table, although the gulf in quality in the lower divisions is that much more minuscule compared to the premiership.

Liverpool - Original System / Premiership Winners, ECL Winners, FA Cup Winners

I also wanted to test the system in the considered hardest league in the world. Although it doesn't appear to be that this season.

The system did achieve the treble, although the season did throw some spanners into the works. Comfortably leading by 6 points, we had incurred 7 injuries all very quickly and ended up losing two games we probably would have won. So to ensure squad depletion wouldn't ruin the purpose of the season, a couple of players were brought in to enhance the depth of the squad in January, and also Douglas Costa at the start as Liverpool aren't hugely suited to a 442 with no natural left winger.

Those problems aside it was a good year. A highlight result beating Man City 5-1, and the 7-0 drubbing of a supposedly well organised Burnley. ECL was a little fortunate in that it went to penalties...with 15 rounds taken! With that said, we wasted 4 clear cut chances to their zero...and missed a penalty too.

Not quite the best defence, but we scored over 100 goals in the league. Those two defeats with poor sides out were against Wolves and Palace - where we really missed having any decent wingers on the pitch in Mane and Costa. Salah played up front all year with Firminho.

 

Edited March 8, 2020 by BJT

[krript]

İ use balance as away and agains difficult teams, i use your other tactic in home and weak teams in turkish 3.league. İ can say its really working. Thr game engine can not solve the tactics after one season in same league. İt seems classic Alex Fergusons tactics. İ never sim the matches i hate it. Just problem is its not easy to keep the score, but as i say i am in lower league and managing weak team. 

[BJT]

Cheers for the feedback and glad they're both working well for you also. That was the aim, I'm a big SAF fan of 99 and always looked forward to watching those European nights   Each FM I'll always try to replicate that exciting style of football. And part reason is it would be wrong for the engine to not allow a real life successful tactic to work.

Logically if you have the players to play this brand of football, you should always be competing for the big trophies each and every season. Teams that park the bus should get broken down due to the sheer bombardment of shots flying in,  and threat down flanks from both the wingers and fullbacks delivering in dangerous balls into the box constantly.

And with a good enough backline and keeper, you should have enough quality to keep sides that play on the counter out more often than not. I'm not one for in game tweaking, don't really have the time so I'll always create plug n play systems that work if you have the players to play it.

The attacking mentality version didn't work with Villa, simply because they don't have enough quality at the back or up front. Hence the tweak for lower quality sides was made to be more pragmatic / balanced, so in close games A - you will have a good counter attacking threat, and B - you won't be so exposed on the counter. 

[andre62]

this still work on 20.4.0?

[BJT]

It will do yes with the right players. Both 20.3 and 20.4 are identical match engines.

[Diverisma158]

Hey, BJT.  For people who don't have the FM20, do you think you could upload pictures of the instructions to the player?  Greetings.