Manchester City Pep Guardiola Analysis and Tactical Recreation

[Cult of Football Manager]

 

Boston United

Now I didn't get the chance to finish my Boston series on my YouTube channel for FM 21. Here with the new tactic on the new patch for FM22, we're going to look at how this goes through the leagues and how all of this plays out over a few seasons. We'll be favourites some seasons, mid table others and eventually big favourites to go down and it will be interesting to see not only if the tactic still works, but what numbers it puts up in the process along with this project.

 

This is how things look early on in our first season.

 

League Table

 

 

Average Possession:

 

 

Passes completed:

 

Clear cut chances:

 

Goals from corners:

 

Total Wages spent:

 

Total transfer money spent:

 

Player Profiles:

 

So generally I would say just look for player profiles from Pep's teams in real life in relation to the level you're playing at. Normally I like to have quick wingbacks at the expense of mostly everything else to help with transition in the match engine. Scott Duxbury though is the exception to that and he was in FM21 with Boston.

He's a good all round defender for this level. He's dynamic enough all round and also has pretty decent technicals both in possession and out of possession. His off the ball is very good for a fullback at this level and a combination of his all round physicals, technicals, off the ball & player train of get forward whenever possible  I think is why he performs so well. He hasn't got that many assists and goals because he started the season playing CB for me when I had a more dynamic player playing wing back.

 

 

Other FB:

 

ST:

 

CB:

 

Edited December 11, 2021 by Cult of Football Manager

[Sunstrikuuu]

Hypothetically, how do you think this would work with a libero instead of the DLP?  Attacking 3-4-3s are, like, my my favorite thing in FM.

Edit:  Circled in purple there is my libero, who's just a regular-ass 75 CA centerback.  He's on Attack simply because he didn't seem to offer the same triangular position when on Support.  He'd stand in line with the other CDs more often.  I am a little worried about that big ol' gap behind him, though. . . .

Edited December 11, 2021 by Sunstrikuuu

[Cult of Football Manager]

20 minutes ago, Sunstrikuuu said:

Hypothetically, how do you think this would work with a libero instead of the DLP?  Attacking 3-4-3s are, like, my my favorite thing in FM.

Edit:  Circled in purple there is my libero, who's just a regular-ass 75 CA centerback.  He's on Attack simply because he didn't seem to offer the same triangular position when on Support.  He'd stand in line with the other CDs more often.  I am a little worried about that big ol' gap behind him, though. . . .

3-4-3 I think works as a system pretty well in this match engine and in possession you should look similar but the opposition will struggle to pick up your WB's and W's both attacking together.

I mean you could have some fun and tweak him forward or keep him back as the pivot to switch to as a long CB ( Libero S ? ) and have 2 WCB on support to overload the half spaces and wide zones even more? Let me know how you get on!

Who are you playing as and how are you getting on etc?

[Sunstrikuuu]

5 minutes ago, Cult of Football Manager said:

3-4-3 I think works as a system pretty well in this match engine and in possession you should look similar but the opposition will struggle to pick up your WB's and W's both attacking together.

I mean you could have some fun and tweak him forward or keep him back as the pivot to switch to as a long CB ( Libero S ? ) and have 2 WCB on support to overload the half spaces and wide zones even more? Let me know how you get on!

Who are you playing as and how are you getting on etc?

Currently Racing Club de France Football, a semi-pro team in the National 3 - Paris Ile-de-France, one of the regional leagues that makes up the French 5th tier.  It's going pretty well.  Currently second in the table behind PSG's second team -- a problem since only one team goes up.  Preseason expectations were for a mid-table finish, so I'm significantly overperforming.  Financial problems, etc and so on, the usual.  Since every one of my players is out of contract in the summer I might try to move more in a 3-4-3 direction.

Did a very little bit of testing and the Libero on support stayed back in line with the other two CBs in possession a bit more than I like.  My solution was to give him an Attack duty; his average position ended up being pretty similar in possession to the DLP.  That's not ideal since it pushes the other two CBs wide and leaves that gap.  Maybe a BPD on cover...?  Hm.  Maybe I'll take some time tomorrow, fire up an Inter save (or whatever) and use the IGE to test a bunch of player types and options in that middle-CB position.

[Sunstrikuuu]

Couldn't sleep, played another game with the following tweaks:

• Centerbacks became Wide Centerbacks (support), no extra PIs
• DM DLP (support) became a Libero (support), then a BPD (cover), then a Libero (attack)
  • The support libero and the BPD(c) were very similar, with the BPD carrying the ball forward more.  In possession, both took up positions slightly behind the centerbacks.  That gave the team an easy way to work the ball around the horn, but with the tactic's flooding of the half-spaces  in the final third working the ball side-to-side is already a strength.  The space in front of the centerbacks felt weak, and I missed having the point to that triangle to facilitate central play.
  • The libero on attack filled that position, and buildup felt stronger.  The libero was frequently unmarked, and with so many players in the half-spaces one goal came from a lofted through ball straight down the center of the pitch; the defense had parted like the Red Sea before Moses.
  • The libero (attack) picked up more cleared crosses, but the libero (support) and BPD were in better positions to cover from successful clearances.  Defensively, I'd say they're better options
• Removed team instruction to use the offside trap.  I figured with a covering defender it was less useful.  If the libero's going to be on attack full-time, though, I might go back to it.
• Added, then removed, instruction to show opposition inside (the old Defend Wider).  My thought was that with three CDs it'd force players into blind alleys.  I don't think it worked.  I might try defending narrower to tighten some gaps I saw in transition defense.
• Changed the goalkeeping duty to support
  • This is entirely for the meme.  I liked the idea of having five support duties, six attack duties and no defend/stopper/cover duties.

The match was against a bad team, away at their place.  They're in the same division as me, but probably going down.  It finished 5-2 to the good guys, with both goals coming from set pieces. 

Match stats:

Average positions in attack:

And defense:

 

Kind of interesting -- I'm not sure why the right winger is SO high in defense.  It turns the formation into essentially a 5-3-2 in defense.  Despite the clear 5-3 defensive banks, there were some concerns:

Here you can see the back five in their bank, but the right winger's way upfield, leaving the right back two on one.  The LCB is maybe too far left -- if he were closer to the center, the sweeper could be in a better position to assist that 3-on-2 situation on the right.  The left mezzala's also gotten sucked in so there's no pressure on the ball.  Against a better team this is a pretty scary situation, as is this one:

Brilliant tackle saved my bacon.  The mezzalas don't come back enough in defensive phases with their attack duty (though they also have close down more and mark more tightly instructions, so maybe it's just bad decisions from bad players).  Despite this not being a transition situation or any sort of break, Bretigny has a 7-on-5 in my defensive third.  I'm not sure having the DLP in there would have helped (I'd be taking away a central defender), but having a second vertical layer to the defense would help.

There's a lot of defensive risk in attack, too.  The wide centerbacks move forward to the half-spaces, which creates 4v2 and 4v3 overloads.  Two of my goals came from those situations.  But it's very dependent on those players making good decisions on the ball.  For example, here my right WCB is on the ball.  He has a lot of potential passes he could make.  One is safe, and four are very scary.

The pass he chooses is the through ball to the onrunning winger.  You can see the positions of the L(a) and the other WCB marked; Marengo at the bottom is the right back.  There's a tackle and a bit of a scrum, and this is the result:

Again, fortunately for my bacon, Roussel takes so long to turn around that the libero goes steaming in and takes the ball away.  In a better league, that's a one-on-one with the goalkeeper.

Anyway, while this shape isn't as effective as the 4-1-2-3 version I think, it's fun and it's kinda great to play a back five with no defend duties.  Performance dropped off significantly at half, when I was up 4-1 and had nearly 530 passes at a 97% rate and 75% possession.  So maybe it's a good way to thrash bad teams and run up passing stats.  Or maybe it's a gimmick, and as soon as I get to a point where an average player has more than ~70 CA it'll get horrendously exposed.

 

Edited December 11, 2021 by Sunstrikuuu

[Cult of Football Manager]

9 hours ago, Sunstrikuuu said:

Couldn't sleep, played another game with the following tweaks:

• Centerbacks became Wide Centerbacks (support), no extra PIs
• DM DLP (support) became a Libero (support), then a BPD (cover), then a Libero (attack)
  • The support libero and the BPD(c) were very similar, with the BPD carrying the ball forward more.  In possession, both took up positions slightly behind the centerbacks.  That gave the team an easy way to work the ball around the horn, but with the tactic's flooding of the half-spaces  in the final third working the ball side-to-side is already a strength.  The space in front of the centerbacks felt weak, and I missed having the point to that triangle to facilitate central play.
  • The libero on attack filled that position, and buildup felt stronger.  The libero was frequently unmarked, and with so many players in the half-spaces one goal came from a lofted through ball straight down the center of the pitch; the defense had parted like the Red Sea before Moses.
  • The libero (attack) picked up more cleared crosses, but the libero (support) and BPD were in better positions to cover from successful clearances.  Defensively, I'd say they're better options
• Removed team instruction to use the offside trap.  I figured with a covering defender it was less useful.  If the libero's going to be on attack full-time, though, I might go back to it.
• Added, then removed, instruction to show opposition inside (the old Defend Wider).  My thought was that with three CDs it'd force players into blind alleys.  I don't think it worked.  I might try defending narrower to tighten some gaps I saw in transition defense.
• Changed the goalkeeping duty to support
  • This is entirely for the meme.  I liked the idea of having five support duties, six attack duties and no defend/stopper/cover duties.

The match was against a bad team, away at their place.  They're in the same division as me, but probably going down.  It finished 5-2 to the good guys, with both goals coming from set pieces. 

Match stats:

Average positions in attack:

And defense:

 

Kind of interesting -- I'm not sure why the right winger is SO high in defense.  It turns the formation into essentially a 5-3-2 in defense.  Despite the clear 5-3 defensive banks, there were some concerns:

Here you can see the back five in their bank, but the right winger's way upfield, leaving the right back two on one.  The LCB is maybe too far left -- if he were closer to the center, the sweeper could be in a better position to assist that 3-on-2 situation on the right.  The left mezzala's also gotten sucked in so there's no pressure on the ball.  Against a better team this is a pretty scary situation, as is this one:

Brilliant tackle saved my bacon.  The mezzalas don't come back enough in defensive phases with their attack duty (though they also have close down more and mark more tightly instructions, so maybe it's just bad decisions from bad players).  Despite this not being a transition situation or any sort of break, Bretigny has a 7-on-5 in my defensive third.  I'm not sure having the DLP in there would have helped (I'd be taking away a central defender), but having a second vertical layer to the defense would help.

There's a lot of defensive risk in attack, too.  The wide centerbacks move forward to the half-spaces, which creates 4v2 and 4v3 overloads.  Two of my goals came from those situations.  But it's very dependent on those players making good decisions on the ball.  For example, here my right WCB is on the ball.  He has a lot of potential passes he could make.  One is safe, and four are very scary.

The pass he chooses is the through ball to the onrunning winger.  You can see the positions of the L(a) and the other WCB marked; Marengo at the bottom is the right back.  There's a tackle and a bit of a scrum, and this is the result:

Again, fortunately for my bacon, Roussel takes so long to turn around that the libero goes steaming in and takes the ball away.  In a better league, that's a one-on-one with the goalkeeper.

Anyway, while this shape isn't as effective as the 4-1-2-3 version I think, it's fun and it's kinda great to play a back five with no defend duties.  Performance dropped off significantly at half, when I was up 4-1 and had nearly 530 passes at a 97% rate and 75% possession.  So maybe it's a good way to thrash bad teams and run up passing stats.  Or maybe it's a gimmick, and as soon as I get to a point where an average player has more than ~70 CA it'll get horrendously exposed.

 

 

Completely get what you mean and you might get hit on the counter in those situations but you might find a way of tweaking your way out of it so it's not as bad? WCB on D? maybe one on D? 

 

On your average positions your RW is very hight out of possession, what was the reason for that is he on an attack duty and the other on support?

 

Great stuff mate keep us updated love reading things like this even if I don't get to reply to it straight away!

[Cult of Football Manager]

Boston United First Season

 

League Table:

 

Average Possession:

 

Passes Completed:

 

XG For:

 

 

Goals From Corners:

 

 

Clear Cut Chances Created:

 

 

Stats from Games:

 

 

 

 

Money Spent

 

[latrell]

unbelievable passing stats for this level looking forward to my journey with my new save with this tactic @Cult of Football Managerwhen are you going to release the Pep 2008 tactic i enjoyed your series on YouTube 

[fc.cadoni]

Nice one here, @Cult of Football Manager! 

[Cult of Football Manager]

6 hours ago, latrell said:

unbelievable passing stats for this level looking forward to my journey with my new save with this tactic @Cult of Football Managerwhen are you going to release the Pep 2008 tactic i enjoyed your series on YouTube 

Brilliant mate keep me up to date how it goes and anything you find and tweak to make it better!

Oh that will be coming. I've been ill recently so I've been uploading what I already had recorded and most of it is pre patch. This came about from testing my original Pep tactic and the most recent Pep 2008 - 2009 one on the new match engine while originally trying to recreate Pep 2021 - 2022. 

I don't normally upload Sunday's but I'll be going again on Monday with a new Barca video!

6 hours ago, fc.cadoni said:

Nice one here, @Cult of Football Manager! 

Thanks Cadoni I really appreciate it mate!

[Sunstrikuuu]

I played through another season today in the French 5th tier.  In about half the games, I used the tactic as originally posted.  In the other half, I played a 3-4-3 variation that changes the DLP for a libero (duty dependent on match situation), changes the defend duty on the sweeper-keeper to a support duty, and changes the centerbacks to wide centerbacks with a support duty.  It isn't optimal by any means, but I don't want to have a defend duty in there, just for fun.  That version also defends more narrowly, showing attackers outside. 

I've also swapped the overlap/underlap asymmetry around based on personnel.  When chasing a game, I go +1 mentality, when seeing one out I'll go +1 Timewasting, -1 mentality or both.  Those changes are made to both the posted 4-3-3 and my 3-4-3.

The squad is whatever loans and free agents I could cobble together.  My wage budget was approximately £3200 per week, and my weekly spend about about £2800.  I don't think any of the players I signed were particularly exceptional, but I don't have any data analysts to actually do the comparison report.

Safe to say it went well.  I woulda been promoted last year without PSG's second team being in the way, and this year...:

xG Against, in a 15-team league:

So slight over-performance but pretty damn similar in xGA.  BIG overperformance of xG in attack, though.  That's partly luck.  It's also partly creation of better chances than shot location alone would suggest:

Passing and possession were great.  Ball progression was mostly passing, with relatively few dribbles.  As well as being #2 and #3 in possession, those teams are #2 and #3 in passes.  So I'm nearly 5,000 passes ahead of #2 and 8,000 passes ahead of #3.  The gap from #3 to the bottom passing team in the league, by the way, is only about 5,000 passes.

On an individual level, I didn't have the highest-rated player in the league (but I had 2, 3, 4, 8 and 9).  I didn't have the player with the most Man-of-the-Match awards, either -- he had 12, and my players in the top 20 had 6, 6 and 5.  Nor did I have one of the top three goalscorers in the league -- just T4, 6 and T15.  So goals were spread around.  For the second year in a row, though, one of the central midfielders was my lead goalscorer.  I had four players in the top 20 in assists, but not #1.  Nothing amazing in terms of key passes, but seven players in the top 20 in CCC Created.  Defensively, frankly, there's nothing of interest; I just had the ball too often.

The biggest thing, defensively, is significant shot suppression.  I was #1 in possession, but only by 6%.  Yet no team was even close in shots allowed:

The gap from 1st to 2nd is as big as the gap from 2nd to 8th.

Admittedly I didn't track this game-by-game.  I should have.  My instinct is that the 4-1-2-3 variation is more shot-suppressive with the DLP as a shield, and also gives up fewer high-quality chances on the break to passes into the CB gap behind the libero.  On the other hand, the 3-4-3 is better at winning second balls and generating turnovers in the opposition half. 

Again, interested to see how this looks against players that're a little bit better and can do things like hit the ball into space accurately or run really fast.

Edited December 12, 2021 by Sunstrikuuu

[fc.cadoni]

7 hours ago, Cult of Football Manager said:

Thanks Cadoni I really appreciate it mate!

I really like the brand of football being displayed here. For Set Piece; I am not very sure in FM22. It's really very random.

[Collectivism]

Any attribute recommendations for the IW here? I love the tactic and the brand of football it produces but struggle to get my wingers into double digits for goals or assists; both of them tend to average below a 7 in game too. Should they have strong weak foot depending on what side they play on? 

[fc.cadoni]

2 minutes ago, Collectivism said:

Any attribute recommendations for the IW here? I love the tactic and the brand of football it produces but struggle to get my wingers into double digits for goals or assists; both of them tend to average below a 7 in game too. Should they have strong weak foot depending on what side they play on? 

I would go with Key and preferable ones (green & blue)

[JoOSTAR]

On 11/12/2021 at 04:13, Cult of Football Manager said:

 

Boston United

Now I didn't get the chance to finish my Boston series on my YouTube channel for FM 21. Here with the new tactic on the new patch for FM22, we're going to look at how this goes through the leagues and how all of this plays out over a few seasons. We'll be favourites some seasons, mid table others and eventually big favourites to go down and it will be interesting to see not only if the tactic still works, but what numbers it puts up in the process along with this project.

 

This is how things look early on in our first season.

 

League Table

 

 

Average Possession:

 

 

Passes completed:

 

Clear cut chances:

 

Goals from corners:

 

Total Wages spent:

 

Total transfer money spent:

 

Player Profiles:

 

So generally I would say just look for player profiles from Pep's teams in real life in relation to the level you're playing at. Normally I like to have quick wingbacks at the expense of mostly everything else to help with transition in the match engine. Scott Duxbury though is the exception to that and he was in FM21 with Boston.

He's a good all round defender for this level. He's dynamic enough all round and also has pretty decent technicals both in possession and out of possession. His off the ball is very good for a fullback at this level and a combination of his all round physicals, technicals, off the ball & player train of get forward whenever possible  I think is why he performs so well. He hasn't got that many assists and goals because he started the season playing CB for me when I had a more dynamic player playing wing back.

 

 

Other FB:

 

ST:

 

CB:

 

Where is this new tactic up for download mate?

[Sunstrikuuu]

1 hour ago, Collectivism said:

Any attribute recommendations for the IW here? I love the tactic and the brand of football it produces but struggle to get my wingers into double digits for goals or assists; both of them tend to average below a 7 in game too. Should they have strong weak foot depending on what side they play on? 

In the attacking third, the IWs are going to have players running past them a lot.  I'd look at them as creators more than goalscorers, frankly.  In a perfect world, my wingers would be two-footed since their attacking runs with the ball will frequently be to the outside.  Pace is huge, too.  Maybe more goalscoring attributes on the right and more creative attributes on the left.

[Cult of Football Manager]

Boston United Second Season:

 

 

League Table:

 

 

Average Possession:

 

XG For:

 

Passes Completed:

 

Clear Cut Chances:

 

Money Spent:

 

 

Stats from games:

 

 

This is some of the most fun I've had on FM in YEARS! and from a tactical style / playing style in the match engine maybe ever. 

 

Absolutely love the football this tactic plays and don't get me wrong to achieve this second season that was HARD work constantly checking the free agents to see if some of these players were ready to negotiate with us!

[Cult of Football Manager]

8 hours ago, Sunstrikuuu said:

I played through another season today in the French 5th tier.  In about half the games, I used the tactic as originally posted.  In the other half, I played a 3-4-3 variation that changes the DLP for a libero (duty dependent on match situation), changes the defend duty on the sweeper-keeper to a support duty, and changes the centerbacks to wide centerbacks with a support duty.  It isn't optimal by any means, but I don't want to have a defend duty in there, just for fun.  That version also defends more narrowly, showing attackers outside. 

I've also swapped the overlap/underlap asymmetry around based on personnel.  When chasing a game, I go +1 mentality, when seeing one out I'll go +1 Timewasting, -1 mentality or both.  Those changes are made to both the posted 4-3-3 and my 3-4-3.

The squad is whatever loans and free agents I could cobble together.  My wage budget was approximately £3200 per week, and my weekly spend about about £2800.  I don't think any of the players I signed were particularly exceptional, but I don't have any data analysts to actually do the comparison report.

Safe to say it went well.  I woulda been promoted last year without PSG's second team being in the way, and this year...:

xG Against, in a 15-team league:

So slight over-performance but pretty damn similar in xGA.  BIG overperformance of xG in attack, though.  That's partly luck.  It's also partly creation of better chances than shot location alone would suggest:

Passing and possession were great.  Ball progression was mostly passing, with relatively few dribbles.  As well as being #2 and #3 in possession, those teams are #2 and #3 in passes.  So I'm nearly 5,000 passes ahead of #2 and 8,000 passes ahead of #3.  The gap from #3 to the bottom passing team in the league, by the way, is only about 5,000 passes.

On an individual level, I didn't have the highest-rated player in the league (but I had 2, 3, 4, 8 and 9).  I didn't have the player with the most Man-of-the-Match awards, either -- he had 12, and my players in the top 20 had 6, 6 and 5.  Nor did I have one of the top three goalscorers in the league -- just T4, 6 and T15.  So goals were spread around.  For the second year in a row, though, one of the central midfielders was my lead goalscorer.  I had four players in the top 20 in assists, but not #1.  Nothing amazing in terms of key passes, but seven players in the top 20 in CCC Created.  Defensively, frankly, there's nothing of interest; I just had the ball too often.

The biggest thing, defensively, is significant shot suppression.  I was #1 in possession, but only by 6%.  Yet no team was even close in shots allowed:

The gap from 1st to 2nd is as big as the gap from 2nd to 8th.

Admittedly I didn't track this game-by-game.  I should have.  My instinct is that the 4-1-2-3 variation is more shot-suppressive with the DLP as a shield, and also gives up fewer high-quality chances on the break to passes into the CB gap behind the libero.  On the other hand, the 3-4-3 is better at winning second balls and generating turnovers in the opposition half. 

Again, interested to see how this looks against players that're a little bit better and can do things like hit the ball into space accurately or run really fast.

This is amazing to see mate thank you for all of the screenshots and keeping us up to date! Is this your main save and are you going to be keeping the tactic throughout it?

66% Average possession is incredible and the highest I've seen yet ! 

 

2 hours ago, fc.cadoni said:

I really like the brand of football being displayed here. For Set Piece; I am not very sure in FM22. It's really very random.

Thanks mate it's incredible and there's some beautiful transition of positions from the FB, CM & Wingers in this tactic it's the best football I've seen from a Football Manager match engine I'm so happy with it and I don't think it would have worked like this on any previous edition or match engine until the very current one!

20 minutes ago, JoOSTAR said:

Where is this new tactic up for download mate?

4-3-3 Cult of Football Manager.fmf

 

Here it is mate!

[Cult of Football Manager]

Boston United Season 3

 

League Table:

 

 

Average Possession:

 

 

 

Passes Completed:

 

 

Clear Cut Chances:

 

 

 

 

Money Spent

 

 

 

Stats from games:

 

This is the most fun I've had on FM in terms of watching the football in the match engine ever. The Boston owners though are making it very difficult to keep this success up giving us hardly any money to spent despite the fact we've made over £1M since the first season!

[DocSnyder]

Very nice read, thanks a lot - I give it a try with Roda from the Netherlands. 

[Sunstrikuuu]

8-1 win using the 3-4-3 Libero version.  Highest possession I've had in a match so far.  I highlighted the Headers Won column there to show how effective the pressing and passing from the back was.  Caudebec contested 57 headers, a suuuper low number for a match where RCFF put in 43 crosses and had four corners (admittedly, low crosses mean fewer header chances).  60% success rate suggests that most of those were under pressure.  So Racing CFF is getting the ball out along the ground rather than kicking into their defense.  Meanwhile, Caudebec had no corners and attempted one cross, just one, and it was headed clear.  So the other 63 headers are basically from booted clearances, and usually not even towards a forward, which is my biggest fear with the libero.

Here's the heat and pass maps for the second half (I, uh, accidentally put some players in the wrong positions before the match, so I had to shuffle them around around 20 minutes when I realized what I'd done).  No subs were made.  You can see really strong 4-man overloads on both wings and almost an entirely vacated midfield.  I think that's really interesting, and I might experiment a bit with some roles to see if I can fill that in a bit.  When I have some money I might try acquiring a technical, creating striker and playing him as a DLF or F9 rather than the pressing forward. 

In the pass map there, 6 and 7 are the mezzalas and 24 and 2 are the wingbacks.  In the two full and one partial seasons I've been playing with @Cult of Football Manager's tactic and my minor variations, the right-side mezzala (7 in the screenshot) has been my top scorer, despite being a different player each season, and I've gotten 10+ goals out of the right back too.  That's usually the side I play with an overlap on.  Most of my players are right-footed; I wonder if it'd be the other way if they were left-footed....

[latrell]

1 hour ago, Sunstrikuuu said:

8-1 win using the 3-4-3 Libero version.  Highest possession I've had in a match so far.  I highlighted the Headers Won column there to show how effective the pressing and passing from the back was.  Caudebec contested 57 headers, a suuuper low number for a match where RCFF put in 43 crosses and had four corners (admittedly, low crosses mean fewer header chances).  60% success rate suggests that most of those were under pressure.  So Racing CFF is getting the ball out along the ground rather than kicking into their defense.  Meanwhile, Caudebec had no corners and attempted one cross, just one, and it was headed clear.  So the other 63 headers are basically from booted clearances, and usually not even towards a forward, which is my biggest fear with the libero.

Here's the heat and pass maps for the second half (I, uh, accidentally put some players in the wrong positions before the match, so I had to shuffle them around around 20 minutes when I realized what I'd done).  No subs were made.  You can see really strong 4-man overloads on both wings and almost an entirely vacated midfield.  I think that's really interesting, and I might experiment a bit with some roles to see if I can fill that in a bit.  When I have some money I might try acquiring a technical, creating striker and playing him as a DLF or F9 rather than the pressing forward. 

In the pass map there, 6 and 7 are the mezzalas and 24 and 2 are the wingbacks.  In the two full and one partial seasons I've been playing with @Cult of Football Manager's tactic and my minor variations, the right-side mezzala (7 in the screenshot) has been my top scorer, despite being a different player each season, and I've gotten 10+ goals out of the right back too.  That's usually the side I play with an overlap on.  Most of my players are right-footed; I wonder if it'd be the other way if they were left-footed....

could you upload your tactic i would love to have it as my second tactic i like the idea of a libero

[Sunstrikuuu]

38 minutes ago, latrell said:

could you upload your tactic i would love to have it as my second tactic i like the idea of a libero

It's the same as his, except:

• DLP to Libero (attack)
• SKd to SK support
• Central defenders to WCB (support)
• Untick Use Offside Trap

Everything else is the same as a starting point.  On a match-by-match basis I play with where the Overlap/Underlap is happening based on which wingers/fullbacks are starting, and on a situational basis with Balanced/Positive/Attacking mentality, whether to get stuck in, and the dribbling/expressive options.  I've tinkered with defend narrower and defend wider, and haven't cared enough to stick with one.  It's probably better to keep the goalkeeper on sweeper keeper (defend) and the centerbacks on wide centerback (defend) but I want the thrill of having six attack duties and five support duties, you know?

Also, to be clear, I have absolutely no idea how this will work when defending against world-class players.   All my experiments have been at the semi-pro level.

[latrell]

15 minutes ago, Sunstrikuuu said:

It's the same as his, except:

• DLP to Libero (attack)
• SKd to SK support
• Central defenders to WCB (support)
• Untick Use Offside Trap

Everything else is the same as a starting point.  On a match-by-match basis I play with where the Overlap/Underlap is happening based on which wingers/fullbacks are starting, and on a situational basis with Balanced/Positive/Attacking mentality, whether to get stuck in, and the dribbling/expressive options.  I've tinkered with defend narrower and defend wider, and haven't cared enough to stick with one.  It's probably better to keep the goalkeeper on sweeper keeper (defend) and the centerbacks on wide centerback (defend) but I want the thrill of having six attack duties and five support duties, you know?

Also, to be clear, I have absolutely no idea how this will work when defending against world-class players.   All my experiments have been at the semi-pro level.

Cool ill give it a try I'm managing at the same level ill see how it goes as a 2nd option to mix things up abit.

[bakben]

il y a 23 minutes, Sunstrikuuu a dit :

It's the same as his, except:

• DLP to Libero (attack)
• SKd to SK support
• Central defenders to WCB (support)
• Untick Use Offside Trap

Everything else is the same as a starting point.  On a match-by-match basis I play with where the Overlap/Underlap is happening based on which wingers/fullbacks are starting, and on a situational basis with Balanced/Positive/Attacking mentality, whether to get stuck in, and the dribbling/expressive options.  I've tinkered with defend narrower and defend wider, and haven't cared enough to stick with one.  It's probably better to keep the goalkeeper on sweeper keeper (defend) and the centerbacks on wide centerback (defend) but I want the thrill of having six attack duties and five support duties, you know?

Also, to be clear, I have absolutely no idea how this will work when defending against world-class players.   All my experiments have been at the semi-pro level.

hello can you Post 1 picture please.

[Lesterfan_Cambiasso]

Im currently playing as a couple of teams, but enjoying a save as Real Madrid.

Im trying to use this formation as a pep type tactic, mostly focusing on the idea of a 3-2-5 attacking shape thats favoured by Pep:

Its not a total Pep recreation (i wouldnt know where to begin with the complexity) but Im trying to implement some Pep style elements into it.

Alaba: This is the cancelo role. Totally governed by his default PI's the goal is for him to come and sit as a central midfielder to form the 2 with Casemiro

Modric: Has a PPM to come deep for the ball, so I think this is good for him to collect the ball from the two centrebacks, but also to play a little deeper and almost form the "back 3" in possession. Also has a PI to attempt more risky passes, so he can move the ball out left and right.

Hazard: Has a PI to stay wider, which opens up the half space for Kroos to move

Salah: Has a PI to sit narrow. He is the main goal threat and occupies the right half space

Carvajal: Has a PI to stay wider, stretching the play on the right side to open the right half space. Casemiro has the defensive attributes to cover this zone.

The idea is that as an attacking shape, the players will form this kind of formation:

 

The team instructions seem to work well, but theyre not exactly pep like, and its hard to achieve the level of pressing Man City have as Real Madrid are a far less athletic team.

The slightly higher tempo with very short passing is really to let the ball do the work and put high levels of possession together.

The football isnt as creative as id hoped, but any thoughts on the use of this shape?

[Sunstrikuuu]

My experience playing a style with a similar amount of support duties was that it just wasn't enough attacking runs to be creative.  I'd try putting the mezzala on attack.  You already have an IWB on support and two more static midfielders to cover.

[Flohrinho]

On 12/12/2021 at 14:06, Cult of Football Manager said:

This is amazing to see mate thank you for all of the screenshots and keeping us up to date! Is this your main save and are you going to be keeping the tactic throughout it?

66% Average possession is incredible and the highest I've seen yet ! 

 

Thanks mate it's incredible and there's some beautiful transition of positions from the FB, CM & Wingers in this tactic it's the best football I've seen from a Football Manager match engine I'm so happy with it and I don't think it would have worked like this on any previous edition or match engine until the very current one!

4-3-3 Cult of Football Manager.fmf 44.19 kB · 102 downloads

 

Here it is mate!

What an amazing tactic mate. I used it in my Barca save from my third season on and immediately won every trophy including CL, the final was against Bayern and probably a bit lucky but we won 3-0 non the less but maybe because of a tweak I applied, which I'll come to later in this thread. But don't even wanna brag about any trophys won but instead rather show the stats my team accumulated this season.

First stats overview. 

 

We had the best attack and best defense and completely dominated the league with 34 wins 3 draws and only one unlucky loss. But also had a pretty lucky win against Real.

Some data hub stats:

I think that pretty much says all about how dominant this tactic can be and the goals that are being scored are a real joy to watch on top of that. The only tweak I made is that I have an alternate version of your tactic that is simply a 4-1-4-1 with no other changes than the formation. Helps me either see out games or defender better against other strong teams with marauding wingbacks. 

[ElJefe4]

2 hours ago, Lesterfan_Cambiasso said:

Im currently playing as a couple of teams, but enjoying a save as Real Madrid.

Im trying to use this formation as a pep type tactic, mostly focusing on the idea of a 3-2-5 attacking shape thats favoured by Pep:

Its not a total Pep recreation (i wouldnt know where to begin with the complexity) but Im trying to implement some Pep style elements into it.

Alaba: This is the cancelo role. Totally governed by his default PI's the goal is for him to come and sit as a central midfielder to form the 2 with Casemiro

Modric: Has a PPM to come deep for the ball, so I think this is good for him to collect the ball from the two centrebacks, but also to play a little deeper and almost form the "back 3" in possession. Also has a PI to attempt more risky passes, so he can move the ball out left and right.

Hazard: Has a PI to stay wider, which opens up the half space for Kroos to move

Salah: Has a PI to sit narrow. He is the main goal threat and occupies the right half space

Carvajal: Has a PI to stay wider, stretching the play on the right side to open the right half space. Casemiro has the defensive attributes to cover this zone.

The idea is that as an attacking shape, the players will form this kind of formation:

 

The team instructions seem to work well, but theyre not exactly pep like, and its hard to achieve the level of pressing Man City have as Real Madrid are a far less athletic team.

The slightly higher tempo with very short passing is really to let the ball do the work and put high levels of possession together.

The football isnt as creative as id hoped, but any thoughts on the use of this shape?

Would you mind sharing some average position/pass map screenshots? Pep's teams tend to make the pitch very wide in possession so I'd be interested to see how they look with the 'Very Narrow' team instruction.  

[Flohrinho]

30 minutes ago, ElJefe4 said:

Would you mind sharing some average position/pass map screenshots? Pep's teams tend to make the pitch very wide in possession so I'd be interested to see how they look with the 'Very Narrow' team instruction.  

Here you go mate.

Width is mainly provided by the inverted winger who actually stay fairly wide. The Mezzala's come outside as well at times and if the middle is too congested even the inverted wingbacks will sometimes come outside generating great overloads on both wings.

 

Edit: oh sorry didn't even realize you weren't quoting me.   

Hope it's still helpful to you.

Edited December 14, 2021 by Flohrinho

[bakben]

great job @Flohrinho

[Flohrinho]

4 hours ago, bakben said:

great job @Flohrinho

Thanks but all applause belongs to @Cult of Football Manager for creating this superb Guardiola-Style tactic.

[Cult of Football Manager]

On 14/12/2021 at 09:21, Flohrinho said:

Thanks but all applause belongs to @Cult of Football Manager for creating this superb Guardiola-Style tactic.

Hey we all play the game take credit yourself brilliant stuff mate! 

Edited December 15, 2021 by Cult of Football Manager

[Lesterfan_Cambiasso]

Have a couple of questions for everyone on the Guardiola style.

 

Do you think (PPM's would need to fit) but a REGISTA would fit into one of these systems?

In my Real Madrid example id like to be a bit more flexible in the build up, sometimes utilising 3-2-5 and sometimes using a 2-3-5 shape, like in @Flohrinho Barcelona example.

Modric has a PPM to "come deep for the ball", i like this as in 3-2-5 he can act kind of like the middle but creative player of the back 3. 

If he was set to Regista, do you think its likely with the roaming of the position, he could drop in to make the 3 in the 3-2-5, but also join the centre midfield in attacking phase to change the shape into a 2-3-5 when the ball progresses high up the pitch?

 

Also, do you think it would be useful to train the centrebacks to "bring the ball out of defence" so they can act a little bit like wide centre backs, but from the centreback position, and not a wide centreback position which can only be used with a back 3?

 

Thanks everyone!

 

[jdubsnz]

On 12/12/2021 at 13:06, Cult of Football Manager said:

This is amazing to see mate thank you for all of the screenshots and keeping us up to date! Is this your main save and are you going to be keeping the tactic throughout it?

66% Average possession is incredible and the highest I've seen yet ! 

 

Thanks mate it's incredible and there's some beautiful transition of positions from the FB, CM & Wingers in this tactic it's the best football I've seen from a Football Manager match engine I'm so happy with it and I don't think it would have worked like this on any previous edition or match engine until the very current one!

4-3-3 Cult of Football Manager.fmf 44.19 kB · 117 downloads

 

Here it is mate!

this looks cool. Just starting my 3rd season with Arsenal so will give this a whirl

[Sunstrikuuu]

5 hours ago, Lesterfan_Cambiasso said:

Do you think (PPM's would need to fit) but a REGISTA would fit into one of these systems?

In my Real Madrid example id like to be a bit more flexible in the build up, sometimes utilising 3-2-5 and sometimes using a 2-3-5 shape, like in @Flohrinho Barcelona example.

Modric has a PPM to "come deep for the ball", i like this as in 3-2-5 he can act kind of like the middle but creative player of the back 3. 

If he was set to Regista, do you think its likely with the roaming of the position, he could drop in to make the 3 in the 3-2-5, but also join the centre midfield in attacking phase to change the shape into a 2-3-5 when the ball progresses high up the pitch?

So most of the players I get to work with a) don't have PPMs and b) stink.  I think, and I'll play a game with it here in a second, that the roaming behavior of the regista might cause problems.  Because you're already overloading the half-spaces, the DLP sitting in the center is almost your only central player.  He's the link between the left and right halves of the pitch.  I'd be slightly worried that the regista will get drawn towards the ball, causing more long-ball switching, causing more mishit long balls, leading to turnovers and counterattacks.

Edit: Based on a sample size of one single game, I think it's much of a muchness.  The regista received an almost identical number of passes as the DLP in previous games but made slightly fewer.  Average position with the ball is right at the tip of the triangle with the two CDs, though a little more advanced.  Maybe that's a good thing.  Heat map isn't much different either. 

The more I play with it, the more I feel like the important pieces here are the six half-space players.  IWB attack, mezzala attack, IW support with Stay Wider and Roam from Positions.  Those six players interacting is what makes the attack do what it does.  So the player at the base of the midfield can be given different duties, as long as they're not too aggressive a forward runner.  Might be able to play flat 4-3-3 with a CMd or DLPd, might be able to play a DM support back there.  I'm using a libero.  It'll affect things slightly, but the important thing, at least going forward, is the inverted winger sliding a through ball to an underlapping fullback.

Edited December 14, 2021 by Sunstrikuuu

[Sunstrikuuu]

Awards voting is hard this year.

[w_x]

3 hours ago, Sunstrikuuu said:

So most of the players I get to work with a) don't have PPMs and b) stink.  I think, and I'll play a game with it here in a second, that the roaming behavior of the regista might cause problems.  Because you're already overloading the half-spaces, the DLP sitting in the center is almost your only central player.  He's the link between the left and right halves of the pitch.  I'd be slightly worried that the regista will get drawn towards the ball, causing more long-ball switching, causing more mishit long balls, leading to turnovers and counterattacks.

Edit: Based on a sample size of one single game, I think it's much of a muchness.  The regista received an almost identical number of passes as the DLP in previous games but made slightly fewer.  Average position with the ball is right at the tip of the triangle with the two CDs, though a little more advanced.  Maybe that's a good thing.  Heat map isn't much different either. 

The more I play with it, the more I feel like the important pieces here are the six half-space players.  IWB attack, mezzala attack, IW support with Stay Wider and Roam from Positions.  Those six players interacting is what makes the attack do what it does.  So the player at the base of the midfield can be given different duties, as long as they're not too aggressive a forward runner.  Might be able to play flat 4-3-3 with a CMd or DLPd, might be able to play a DM support back there.  I'm using a libero.  It'll affect things slightly, but the important thing, at least going forward, is the inverted winger sliding a through ball to an underlapping fullback.

A flat 433 with a CMd or DLPd may push the mezzalas even wider

[Sunstrikuuu]

End of the 2024/2025 season.  Racing CFF secure their third promotion in four seasons and turn professional; we're up to Ligue 2.  Ultimately, I played about 16 games with the original tactic, 16 with the libero variation and 6 with the regista variation brought up by @Lesterfan_Cambiasso earlier today.  Generally I think the DLP version is superior, but it doesn't matter very much, as long as someone's in that hole between the CDs and the CMs.

Pretty comprehensive, honestly.

Here's what possession and passing looks like.  The gap in completed passes from 1st to 2nd is 40% larger than the gap between 2nd and 20th.

This is an attacking tactic that wins by blowing the opposition away with goals.  Possession is a bit lower than it might be because the opposition gets the ball out of their net three times a game and passes around the back.

Overall, I slightly out-performed xG For -- about three and a half goals.  Nothing particularly noteworthy about other options - average-ish goals from corners and indirect free kicks, a bit above-average from direct free kicks, only two penalties all season and I missed one of those.  Here's where the money is:

The tactic shoots more than anyone else, from more dangerous areas than anyone else, under less defensive pressure than anyone else and subsequently scores more than anyone else.  The gap in clear-cut chances created from 1st to 2nd is 72.  The gap from second to 20th is 75.  Shots are widely distributed, too: 10 players averaged more than one shot/90, and another three were just under 1.  Four players had ten or more goals, and another nine players had two or more.  Do not expect massive amounts of goalscoring from wingers, in my experience.  They're creators, not finishers, and when you look at building your squad I'd emphasize those aspects. 

All 19 of my senior squad members had an assist.  Ten had 5 or more.  Fifteen players averaged more than one key pass per 90 minutes; twelve players averaged more than one chance created per 90 minutes.  It's important to have creative attributes spread throughout the team.  Don't worry about dribbling.

Midfielders eat -- my right-sided mezzala wasn't my leading goalscorer like he was two of the previous three seasons, but 21 goals and 14 assists is an outrageously good return.  He was third on the team in KP/90, second in chances created/90 and second in shots/90.  The other first-choice CM had fairly similar rate stats but didn't shoot as often; I think he's competing with the wingback on that side.  The left CM+IWB together combined for 13 assists and 16 goals.  I'd say in terms of transfer activity the most important things to have are a pair of physically-beasty central defenders and at least one really, really good attack-focused central midfielder.

Defensively, it's about retaining possession and forcing turnovers with the press.

Only the third-best defense, but much worse results than other teams from IFK goals.  8 conceded was twice the next-worst team.  Very shot-suppressive, but generally the shots that were conceded were more dangerous than average.  That fits with a team that has the ball a lot and gives up chances to high-threat counterattacks and long balls.  Likewise, I made no real effort to sign big defenders or attackers, but I'm leading the league in headers won; I think that's a result of picking up lots of hoofed clearances and nodding them down to the other defender.  Sign that the press is working.

Even at lower levels, make sure you have a few backups.  I carried 19 senior players, some of whom were on month-to-month contracts, in a league with a 5-man bench, because I knew that I'd have a ton of cards.  109 yellows and 4 reds meant all 19 of those players made at least 13 appearances, and no one except the keeper played more than 34 times.

The dollar to performance ratio is silly, as it can be at lower levels.

So.  Long-term squadbuilding here: physical central defenders with an emphasis on pace.  Creative, rather than physical or goalscoring, attributes for the IW positions.  At least one scoring-focused CM; when I managed Brazil in FM21 there were tons of CM/ST hybrid players floating around by the late 2020s, and one of those would be great.  All-arounders in the wingback positions rather than specialists -- goalscoring, passing, crossing, defending are all necessary, so probably the ideal wingback is someone with tons of quickness and otherwise a pretty balanced spread of attributes.  In terms of PPMs, I think I want the central pivot player to stay back, come deep or at the very least avoid getting forward. 

[kjpro]

4 hours ago, Sunstrikuuu said:

So most of the players I get to work with a) don't have PPMs and b) stink.  I think, and I'll play a game with it here in a second, that the roaming behavior of the regista might cause problems.  Because you're already overloading the half-spaces, the DLP sitting in the center is almost your only central player.  He's the link between the left and right halves of the pitch.  I'd be slightly worried that the regista will get drawn towards the ball, causing more long-ball switching, causing more mishit long balls, leading to turnovers and counterattacks.

Edit: Based on a sample size of one single game, I think it's much of a muchness.  The regista received an almost identical number of passes as the DLP in previous games but made slightly fewer.  Average position with the ball is right at the tip of the triangle with the two CDs, though a little more advanced.  Maybe that's a good thing.  Heat map isn't much different either. 

The more I play with it, the more I feel like the important pieces here are the six half-space players.  IWB attack, mezzala attack, IW support with Stay Wider and Roam from Positions.  Those six players interacting is what makes the attack do what it does.  So the player at the base of the midfield can be given different duties, as long as they're not too aggressive a forward runner.  Might be able to play flat 4-3-3 with a CMd or DLPd, might be able to play a DM support back there.  I'm using a libero.  It'll affect things slightly, but the important thing, at least going forward, is the inverted winger sliding a through ball to an underlapping fullback.

What about a Half back?

[Sunstrikuuu]

2 minutes ago, kjpro said:

What about a Half back?

Maybe -- I'm not 100% convinced the halfback role works right.  I think in possession it's too deep.  That's why I use a libero on attack rather than one on support.

[kjpro]

5 minutes ago, Sunstrikuuu said:

Maybe -- I'm not 100% convinced the halfback role works right.  I think in possession it's too deep.  That's why I use a libero on attack rather than one on support.

Interesting, he does sit very deep kind of operates as a CB, what about an anchor?  

[Sunstrikuuu]

9 minutes ago, kjpro said:

Interesting, he does sit very deep kind of operates as a CB, what about an anchor?  

It could work, but conceptually I have two issues.  First, the anchor man's passing range is limited and the tactic is using wide distances and short passing already.  I don't think the anchor man will be as effective as a possession-recycling option because it'll be more likely to go back to the centerbacks.  Second, and related, sometimes that playmaker has the option for very dangerous attacking passes to the wings or down the middle.  The overloads in the half spaces can sometimes pull the defense apart in the middle.  Putting an anchorman in that spot means you're less likely to have a player in position to make those passes.  That'd cost a handful of goals per season, and I don't know that you'd gain much in defense.

[kjpro]

2 minutes ago, Sunstrikuuu said:

It could work, but conceptually I have two issues.  First, the anchor man's passing range is limited and the tactic is using wide distances and short passing already.  I don't think the anchor man will be as effective as a possession-recycling option because it'll be more likely to go back to the centerbacks.  Second, and related, sometimes that playmaker has the option for very dangerous attacking passes to the wings or down the middle.  The overloads in the half spaces can sometimes pull the defense apart in the middle.  Putting an anchorman in that spot means you're less likely to have a player in position to make those passes.  That'd cost a handful of goals per season, and I don't know that you'd gain much in defense.

I see, maybe i'll try a BPD not sure whats the difference betweeen CD and BD? 

[Sunstrikuuu]

1 minute ago, kjpro said:

I see, maybe i'll try a BPD not sure whats the difference betweeen CD and BD? 

Central defenders, by default, are less active in possession (Shoot Less, Dribble Less) and have shorter passing.  Ball Playing Defenders are more active, have longer passing ranges and are set to Take More Risks.

[kjpro]

@Sunstrikuuu could you not set BDP to pass short but then they will still have take more risks anyway so they lose possession more.. hmmm

[Yellowbucket58]

3 hours ago, kjpro said:

@Sunstrikuuu could you not set BDP to pass short but then they will still have take more risks anyway so they lose possession more.. hmmm

BPD have Take More Risk hard coded into their instructions so they are more likely to perform a risky pass and possibly lose the ball. You can mitigate the tendency with PPM and other individual instructions as you mentioned but they'll still look for the risky pass. I'm sure you can build a great possession tactic with a BPD but I've personally have had more success with Regular boring CDs. I've found BPDs to be great in more direct tactics. I had a World Class BPD in one of my saves last year and his long ball passes where great in bypassing my hardworking but non-creative midfield.

Edited December 15, 2021 by Yellowbucket58

[Cult of Football Manager]

11 hours ago, Sunstrikuuu said:

End of the 2024/2025 season.  Racing CFF secure their third promotion in four seasons and turn professional; we're up to Ligue 2.  Ultimately, I played about 16 games with the original tactic, 16 with the libero variation and 6 with the regista variation brought up by @Lesterfan_Cambiasso earlier today.  Generally I think the DLP version is superior, but it doesn't matter very much, as long as someone's in that hole between the CDs and the CMs.

Pretty comprehensive, honestly.

Here's what possession and passing looks like.  The gap in completed passes from 1st to 2nd is 40% larger than the gap between 2nd and 20th.

This is an attacking tactic that wins by blowing the opposition away with goals.  Possession is a bit lower than it might be because the opposition gets the ball out of their net three times a game and passes around the back.

Overall, I slightly out-performed xG For -- about three and a half goals.  Nothing particularly noteworthy about other options - average-ish goals from corners and indirect free kicks, a bit above-average from direct free kicks, only two penalties all season and I missed one of those.  Here's where the money is:

The tactic shoots more than anyone else, from more dangerous areas than anyone else, under less defensive pressure than anyone else and subsequently scores more than anyone else.  The gap in clear-cut chances created from 1st to 2nd is 72.  The gap from second to 20th is 75.  Shots are widely distributed, too: 10 players averaged more than one shot/90, and another three were just under 1.  Four players had ten or more goals, and another nine players had two or more.  Do not expect massive amounts of goalscoring from wingers, in my experience.  They're creators, not finishers, and when you look at building your squad I'd emphasize those aspects. 

All 19 of my senior squad members had an assist.  Ten had 5 or more.  Fifteen players averaged more than one key pass per 90 minutes; twelve players averaged more than one chance created per 90 minutes.  It's important to have creative attributes spread throughout the team.  Don't worry about dribbling.

Midfielders eat -- my right-sided mezzala wasn't my leading goalscorer like he was two of the previous three seasons, but 21 goals and 14 assists is an outrageously good return.  He was third on the team in KP/90, second in chances created/90 and second in shots/90.  The other first-choice CM had fairly similar rate stats but didn't shoot as often; I think he's competing with the wingback on that side.  The left CM+IWB together combined for 13 assists and 16 goals.  I'd say in terms of transfer activity the most important things to have are a pair of physically-beasty central defenders and at least one really, really good attack-focused central midfielder.

Defensively, it's about retaining possession and forcing turnovers with the press.

Only the third-best defense, but much worse results than other teams from IFK goals.  8 conceded was twice the next-worst team.  Very shot-suppressive, but generally the shots that were conceded were more dangerous than average.  That fits with a team that has the ball a lot and gives up chances to high-threat counterattacks and long balls.  Likewise, I made no real effort to sign big defenders or attackers, but I'm leading the league in headers won; I think that's a result of picking up lots of hoofed clearances and nodding them down to the other defender.  Sign that the press is working.

Even at lower levels, make sure you have a few backups.  I carried 19 senior players, some of whom were on month-to-month contracts, in a league with a 5-man bench, because I knew that I'd have a ton of cards.  109 yellows and 4 reds meant all 19 of those players made at least 13 appearances, and no one except the keeper played more than 34 times.

The dollar to performance ratio is silly, as it can be at lower levels.

So.  Long-term squadbuilding here: physical central defenders with an emphasis on pace.  Creative, rather than physical or goalscoring, attributes for the IW positions.  At least one scoring-focused CM; when I managed Brazil in FM21 there were tons of CM/ST hybrid players floating around by the late 2020s, and one of those would be great.  All-arounders in the wingback positions rather than specialists -- goalscoring, passing, crossing, defending are all necessary, so probably the ideal wingback is someone with tons of quickness and otherwise a pretty balanced spread of attributes.  In terms of PPMs, I think I want the central pivot player to stay back, come deep or at the very least avoid getting forward. 

 

Mate this is absolutely brilliant congratulations and thank you for all your analysis and sharing it on this thread. This is exactly what I wanted it to be for and for everyone inspired to try and play this football on Football Manager, to share their attempts and success and we're all better for it.

 

I'm not too familiar with your team and leagues you've been playing in, but I'm assuming with your promotions you've been a heavy underdog in your last 3 seasons and you've still been able to be promoted? How many teams go up automatically in your leagues etc in your previous seasons? 

Yeah defnintely about having that third extra player back and when seeing out the game with a 1 score lead, I've resorted to making that pivot player a CB and keeping everything else the same as my current way to do it, as changing formations seemed to swing the momentum too much to the other team and I found myself conceding a lot. I'm also a heavy underdog over performing with a squad not built to defend deep in our own box so that's part of it too!

 

Love this thread with all these contributions keep it up everyone thank you to all of you for your contributions and I said in a video I'm uploading now for my channel, two people can make 2 recreations on the same team. It can look totally different in the tactics creator to each other but if they're both getting the outcomes they want in the match engine, there is no right or wrong answer.

Thanks everyone and if you haven't shared yet but you've been reading feel free this is a thread for the community !

 

[Cult of Football Manager]

Boston United Season 4

 

Now this was a lot closer and I suspect next season in the championship we won't be winning the league again but we still did really well. Every season that goes by we become a bigger underdog then the season before. Our budget is so small compared to the other teams and it gets worse in comparison every year!

 

League Table:

 

 

Average Possession:

 

Passes Completed:

 

Clear Cut Chances:

 

 

Money Spent:

 

 

 

Stats from games:

 

 

 

[coach vahid]

il y a une heure, Cult of Football Manager a dit :

Boston United Season 4

 

Now this was a lot closer and I suspect next season in the championship we won't be winning the league again but we still did really well. Every season that goes by we become a bigger underdog then the season before. Our budget is so small compared to the other teams and it gets worse in comparison every year!

 

League Table:

 

 

Average Possession:

 

Passes Completed:

 

Clear Cut Chances:

 

 

Money Spent:

 

 

 

Stats from games:

 

 

 

It's very impressive. I'm still on a previous version.

Can you post the player instructions and team instructions? 

Thanks