Formation/Style of play help

[Goodwin7592]

Since the latest update I seem to be really struggling with a formation/tactic and tried a few new saves with no success.

I’ve tried 4-4-2 direct football, 4-3-3 tiki taka, 3-5-2 and 4-2-3-1 of various styles of play.

anyone else having issues, or can suggest a formation/style of play to go with when i’m not having much success?

[Johnny Ace]

It's hard to help out without seeing what tactic or team you're using

Certain teams suit certain shapes, while the general attributes help guide what sort of football you'll find most effective ie Man City don't really suit a long ball 4-4-2 but it might suit a Burnley

I'd recommended giving some of the pinned threads a read at the top of the tactics board 

 

 

 

[khodder]

I think ultimately there are a few things that we need to cover off.

 

1) How much time are you giving your players tonget used to these tactical systems?

2) What is your philosophy. Where do you want to create space  how will you create that space and how will you attack that space.

3) How do you want to defend, and how do you plan to achieve that set up.

Remember your base formation is essentially how your team will defend. Roles and duties will play the biggest part in determining how you attack.

Mentality is a big modifier for everything so keep an eye on that and ensure that your team fits within the mentality.

 

From there it is mostly watching the game and trial and error.

Fm has developed over time to the point where you can no longer plug in a broken tactic with whatever league one calibre side and take them to an EPL title in 5 years.

[Tsuru]

I believe that a style of play should suit the players you have. Even a well organized tactic will probably collapse or become kind of irregular if you try to "force" a style on players that are not suited for it. And I really feel that FM has become more realistic about this on the past versions.

You have some options for figuring it out which style suits your players. You can do this analysis yourself, using tools like the team report and the attribute comparison tool, or you can ask the assistant manager which tactical style/template he recommends. The templates are not plug and play tactics, but they can be a good first step to be adjusted from match to match until you find the right balance.

Another option is to create a sensible/balanced tactic regarding formation, roles and duties (and people here on the forums can help you), and then start with a "blank tactic" with no team instructions, based just on mentality. Then you can do adjustments from game to game or based on specific issues you see on the field.

There is also another option which is Rate my Tactic (https://ratemytactic.web.app/en), a tool created to help you balancing your tactics. On the same way of the templates it does not create plug and play tactics, but it can help you on designing first step balanced tactics, so you can start playing and do the necessary adjustments as time goes by.

 

Edited March 23, 2022 by Tsuru