Back 3 in disguise

[Andrew Marines]

[IF YOU CAN'T READ THIS CHANGE THE THEME AT THE BOTTOM OF THE FORUM TO DARK THEME. IDK WHY IT'S NOT WORKING WELL]

Some time ago, I've seen on this forum a thread about trying to get a back 3 using a standard 4 defender formations. In this continuation, I wanna talk about how I implemented it on my FM20(it could work on every FM) online tournament.

Why should we implement it in our tactics? 

Well, sometimes we need to calm down our players and retain possession. 

The extra defender(LB/RB) can help us do that and create defensive solidity. 

We can see this at City. 

If they press hard, we can still have passing options and be ready to start the attacking phase.

How can we implement that in Football Manager?

Well, if we're playing fm22 we can just use WideCB(obviously the movements we obtain are a bit different). However, if we're playing fm21 or older or we just wanna try something else, we gotta use a defensive fullback. 

 

In the tactic I'm gonna show ya, I created the old Juventus tactic(it's not perfect cause the roles of Morata and Dybala doesn't exist in the game) used during Juventus-Napoli some months ago. When De Sciglio entered the field(75'), he had more defensive duties than Cuadrado. While Alex Sandro had the freedom to get further forward, De Sciglio became an extra-CB with some freedom to get forward only when it wasn't that risky.

We can see this movement even at A.C. Milan with Davide Calabria.

 

Let's start with the tactic.

Spoiler

The first thing to say is that you should change roles of the players during the match.

I tried different roles and everyone is good: No-nonsense fullback, FB-D, FB-S(with hold position), WB-D. They lead to different movements and different situations. It all depends on the players you have on the field.

 

 

 

So what are we gonna obtain?

 

Spoiler

 

 

I liked the position of the player and how he would play but, when the ball is up on his side of the field, he should still go give some support to the further players? a FB-D doesn't do that. You  can get that using another role(wb-d or fb-s) or using a team instruction:

Why? Because overlap just raise the mentality of the fullback and lower the winger one. This is not perfect and sometimes the FB will still stay on defense. watch out, you need  a good winger and a midfield role that will give width(i used a carillero).

 

Okay, you explained the FB, but why the left CB has Stay wider,dribble more and is a BPD on stopper? 

Well, we need width and i like a lot the wide CB movements(like bastoni). those instructions will give him the freedom to get further forward when he has the ball. An example:

 

 

In conclusion, can you get results using a tactic like that? 
Yeah, like i said, i used it in an online save where i gotta save my team from relegation and got great results(from play-out to close play-off):

Spoiler

Leaderboard:

 

Spoiler

 

Edited November 20 by Andrew Marines

[Fealneerg]

change your text to black

[Andrew Marines]

2 ore fa, Fealneerg ha scritto:

change your text to black

is it okay now?

 

[nick1408]

2 minutes ago, Andrew Marines said:

is it okay now?

 

This post is fine, opening post is unreadable.

[Jrddrkly]

Glad you managed to get this working well buddy, I'm running a very similar back line at the moment but using a WBa on the left instead of the CWBa because I want him to be the main source of width on that wing instead of roaming from his position. Also you mentioned using overlap on the right to lower your wingers mentality, have you thought of using an underlap instead when using a role that isn't the FBd?

[Andrew Marines]

5 ore fa, Jrddrkly ha scritto:

Glad you managed to get this working well buddy, I'm running a very similar back line at the moment but using a WBa on the left instead of the CWBa because I want him to be the main source of width on that wing instead of roaming from his position. Also you mentioned using overlap on the right to lower your wingers mentality, have you thought of using an underlap instead when using a role that isn't the FBd?

I haven't used it a lot but i think they do the same thing on the mentality of the flank players. Still gonna give it a try, maybe we can obtain some  unusual movements

[Jrddrkly]

From what I've read/experienced it has a similar effect on the player in the attacking area without raising the mentality of the defensive player

[Andrew Marines]

3 minuti fa, Jrddrkly ha scritto:

raising the mentality of the defensive player

But i need that cause if he stays too much back, we can't retain possession higher up on the pitch. obviously he'll be more offensive minded when the ball is on his side but it's worth the risk

Edited February 21, 2022 by Andrew Marines

[Jrddrkly]

Sorry buddy I was referring to when you use one of the roles that aren't the FBd, I understand why you're using the overlap there. I was meaning more for if you where using a role such as the FBs.

[Andrew Marines]

10 ore fa, Jrddrkly ha scritto:

Sorry buddy I was referring to when you use one of the roles that aren't the FBd, I understand why you're using the overlap there. I was meaning more for if you where using a role such as the FBs.

maybe i could try putting a winger on his side so he doesn't need to overlap and could go into the middle. i'll give it a try, could be a good idea to exploit their defense