Why is my tactic winning so much?

[GottaBeatThemAll]

Long time lurker and first time posting regarding the tactical side of fm. I suspect that this will be a issue that's not talked too much about. Essentially during a SAF challenge I found myself struggling with my newcastle side and on the verge of the sack, i had tried my trusty 4 2 3 1 possession based system but results weren't going my way at all. I had always tried to implant a free flowing attacking style reminiscent of the 90s entertainers but had thus fair failed. Dreading not hitting my target I turned to reading some of the more tactical posts on these forums and using advice from the FM YouTuber Zealand on how my tactic isn't working with the current players. So I came up with this

 

 

whilst utilising the team instructions from zealands tactics, i had changed the roles to fit my team and vision and since then I have updated this tactic twice over in terms of personnel roles. I went from struggling near the bottom table to finishing 3rd the next season. I then went on a 6 titles in a row getting into every cup final run I did some excellent buying in the early seasons with youth prospects who had turned into bona-fide superstars. So you may be wondering so what is the problem? 

Well my issue is a question of have i made a broken tactic, without intending too it feels like my tactic is a complete plug and play where if u play players of decent quality you win. I used this system as a bottom table Italian side and managed to finish 6th and being able to get to a cup final and doing the double over juventus and this was achieved with only signing a couple of youth prospects. Feeling dissatisfied I intended to test this system on lower league save where I took Gloucester who were 21st in vanarama North to league 2 in the span of 2 and a half seasons, this was achieved by completely changing an entire team each season through the use of 1 year contracts. 

I suppose I may just be overthinking it but it just feels like a broken tactic where I win 9 out of 10 games. 

whilst the team instructions have remained the same i tinkered with roles and ended up with this 

 

The only player instructions i have is to shoot less often on the wide players and if i notice poor passing percents i usually add take less risks and as my team became even better i went to this tactic as the final version

The annoying thing is i think this tactic would be super easy to play against as everyone runs around like a mad man leaving all sorts of gaps and all you'd need to do is either lump it pass my midfield or just play through it since everyone is just pressing, anyways let me know what you think and as i'm quite down about how good this tactic is as i don't think it's realistic for me to have at least 70% win percentage through multiple levels of football and in different countries. So I suppose my queries are is this look like a plug and play tactic? What can I do to get away from this tactic as it really does entail the type of football I want to play and I don't want to go back to possesion tiki taka or even try countering football. I try my best to stay away from any match engine breaking trends have I managed to do a few of these unintentionally? 

[Experienced Defender]

3 hours ago, GottaBeatThemAll said:

I suppose I may just be overthinking it

Exactly!

[Flußkrebs]

I agree with @Experienced Defender on this- if you're enjoying the game, you've found a winning tactic, and you built it yourself (if that is important to you!) then carry on. Sometimes I play to make a certain system work and struggle until I get there, other times, if I have the personnel I will go with flavours of systems I have had working in the past as the squad building and career aspects are what I am looking for in that save. There isn't a correct way to play the game. 

One thing of note- I'm not sure what your main save is but if you carry on with Gloucester then at some point your 'overperforming' tactic won't keep pace with your ability to acquire the correct level of players and you will begin to have a bit of a challenge again (even if that is just one or two seasons struggling to get out of League One or the Championship). 

Having said that, here are some quick reasons why I think your tactic is performing so well, based off of my experience with this match engine and from playing very similar systems. 

1) Crosses are very reliable in the game at the moment for creating chances and most importantly goals, more reliable than both central play and one-on-ones in my opinion. You have two wide players whose job it is to fire in crosses all game.  

2) Two striker systems provide two targets for crosses and direct balls, making this reliable chance creation mechanism twice as reliable compared to single striker systems.

3) Wide play is easier to get working and more consistent than narrow play in the current game, I have found. 

4) Your tactic has 6 players who are playing offensively and will be making runs. The CMs partnership combined with your mentality turns them into box-to-box players for the most part. More bodies forward is a very simple way of getting more goals.

5) You are climbing the leagues and overperforming so your opponents will generally be playing openly against you trying to get a win rather than sitting back. This plays into your hands with the style of play you have implemented, imo. 

6) Your tactic has Much Higher DL, Much Higher LoE, Extremely Urgent Pressing AND Counter-Press. I.e. the maximum possible pressing. Pressing is slightly overpowered in the match engine, as somewhat like in real life, it consistently generates forced turnovers high up the pitch, providing goal scoring opportunities. You asked about similarity to exploit tactics- this is the aspect of your tactic which is most similar to them. 

7) Having said all that, your tactic isn't completely gung-ho- you have two Full Backs on support rather than using more offensive roles for these. I am using a tactic on one of my saves which is somewhat similar to yours albeit a little tamer, and I have found that consistently having more or less a back 4 when your front 6 are circled around or in the box provides just enough defensive cover to stop you being completely destroyed on the counter.

Crosses, very high pressing, two strikers, attacking mentality, and at least some defensive cover across the back line= more goals scored than your opponent. Or at least, it is generally a simple recipe for success. 

2 caveats:

1) I reiterate what I said above- if you're enjoying the game, carry on, you won't keep winning forever as you climb the leagues, so don't worry about that, it isn't a "cheat" and your players will go through bad patches of form and you aren't guaranteed to win every game etc etc.

2) All of my above points are not to say that this is either a guaranteed formula for success OR that this is the only way to find success. I hope that it goes without saying that you can of course make all styles of football work in FM(20). The forums are testament to that. BUT I think that the style of play you have chosen to set up in is one of the simplest and most reliable ways to get goals in the game, and that other systems can be much, much harder to properly balance to find this level of success with (e.g. 4231, 442 diamond and 3atb systems, patient possession systems, I know I struggle with to get working consistently without a lot of trial and error and thinking hard about, compared to direct-ish and aggressive systems).

My two cents. 

[GottaBeatThemAll]

Thank you so much for that in depth reply, i really appreciate it. I think i need to try other systems and formations as i'm sick of the 442 and i really want to test my tactical ability again instead of this tactic i have built. I really want to try 3 at the back its something i've never tried consistently and after watching Brighton dominate my newcastle the other week i really want to try and build something similar to theirs. Looking back at the saves i've had, i've always found the most enjoyable ones to be the ones where i struggle and have to keep working and tinkering to become more successful instead of just using one tactic and never changing anything based on who i'm playing and which players are playing for me. 

[sebN]

On 30/09/2020 at 10:57, GottaBeatThemAll said:

Thank you so much for that in depth reply, i really appreciate it. I think i need to try other systems and formations as i'm sick of the 442 and i really want to test my tactical ability again instead of this tactic i have built. I really want to try 3 at the back its something i've never tried consistently and after watching Brighton dominate my newcastle the other week i really want to try and build something similar to theirs. Looking back at the saves i've had, i've always found the most enjoyable ones to be the ones where i struggle and have to keep working and tinkering to become more successful instead of just using one tactic and never changing anything based on who i'm playing and which players are playing for me. 

Can you upload the tactic for me by attaching it in here?

[HanziZoloman]

On 30/09/2020 at 10:57, GottaBeatThemAll said:

Looking back at the saves i've had, i've always found the most enjoyable ones to be the ones where i struggle and have to keep working and tinkering to become more successful instead of just using one tactic and never changing anything based on who i'm playing and which players are playing for me. 

I love the struggle too! 
 

@Flußkrebs Nice Interpretation, now I can imagine why my 442 was working out so well. Also well said.

Edited October 1, 2020 by HanziZoloman

[WalterSobchak]

Curious, what are your other two tactics you use? Different than this or just different versions of this?

Do you utilize any defensive-based tactics? 
 

I’m new to learning FM20 and soccer tactics in general so any feedback is appreciated.