Creating A Tactic Using Role Combinations

[bababooey]

Throughout the years playing FM, I've always found myself second guessing the process of choosing roles + duties in a tactic. "Do I really need this guy on attack? Do I have enough support duties? Will these two roles work together? What happens if nobody in the squad has the attributes to play this role properly?" "Does a ball-winner make sense here?" "what side should the attack duty be on?"  etc.

All of these things are probably very common. If you just browse this forum, you'll see a plethora of posts asking similar questions.

An effective way to deal with this issue is to focus on role combinations within your tactic.

If you haven't already, I highly recommend reading @Rashidi's fantastic work called "the book of roles." His work inspired this post, and I can assure you that you'll be a better FM player having engaged with it.

Now let's get to it....

The Main Idea

The tactic will be created using Chelsea (in the second season of a save).  "But that's easy! You can buy whoever and do anything you want with such a good team!"  That's actually the point. If a system of play doesn't work with top players, how will it work with players of lesser ability?  I think the best way to "test" tactical ideas is to use a top club with top players. Rashidi has done this with teams like Juventus and Barcelona. I think he has videos explaining this exact concept, on his YouTube channel, BustTheNet.

Now, the style of play will be similar to the "control possession" preset that you can select in the tactical creator. But, I have some of my own ideas, and I don't want to just use a preset.

We will use a 4-3-3 DM Wide formation, because A.) it's my favorite and B.) it suits what I'm trying to do here.

The game has multiple phases:  attacking, defending, and transitioning.

Attacking Phase

We will look to probe patiently, attempting to create high quality chances instead of a bunch of lower quality chances. This is something that I think people really struggle with in the game. Just look at the posts on here, or on Reddit or wherever else. It's a common thing! "I have so many shots but we're not scoring goals!"  Well, what kind of shots are you getting off? Are they resulting from quality chances created, or are they wasteful long shots because your players ran out of options? Keep in mind, that a ton of bad quality shots will result in a (relatively) high looking xG stat.  But don't be fooled! If all the shots have a low xG, then the resulting total is misleading. So we're looking for high quality chances, instead of high quantity chances.

I'm looking to create a system where wide players cut inside, supported by dynamic midfielders who can create chances and contribute to scoring. We want to have multiple ways to break teams down, and score from different types of movements.

We're going to implement a few basic principles of play into our attack:

- Lots of width

- Playing out of defense

- Be more expressive

- Use of under/overlaps

- Shorter passing

- Lower tempo

The idea is here that we're trying to maintain firm control over the match.  But also, this will complement our defending style. And that's a point you shouldn't overlook.

Defending Phase

Our defending approach will be based around the high block. We'll press aggressively (but not quite the level of Gegenpressing), we'll hold a high-ish line, and look to compress the space the other team has to play in.

In theory, this will nicely complement our attacking approach. We press high, and then control the game in the opponents third (or at least, just past the halfway line).

We're going to implement this approach utilizing the following team instructions, combined with relevant opposition instructions.

- High Press LOE

- Higher defensive line

- Trigger press more often

- Prevent short GK distribution

- Step up more

- Trap Outside

- Crossing engagement will be unselected by default. I believe this is something we can look at on a match by match basis, and use it as needed. But there is no "right" option here, and it depends heavily on your team + the opponent and how things are playing out on the pitch.

I want to emphasize that the touchline is a defender's best friend. If you can shuttle the opposition players wide and deny them passing options back into the middle, you have effectively trapped them into a rock and a hard place. So, when we "trap outside" the idea is to do exactly that... Deny passing lanes that would see the ball go back into the middle, and force the opponent to use the smaller spaces on the flanks.

We also don't use a narrow formation / a shape with lots of central players (like a diamond, or box, etc.)  so naturally, we want to ensure our opponents aren't able to control games in the middle of the pitch.

"But doesn't that just make your flanks vulnerable!??!"  - Well, no, not if you press effectively!

Look at the yellow zones above. That's where I want to force the opponents to play in. What a crappy place to have the ball in your own third!

The white zone is where I absolutely do NOT want the opponent playing in. We want to disrupt their build up phase, and force the ball wide.

The black lines represent the direction of pressing we should expect to see (depending on where the ball is)

The DM-D does not sit in the way an anchor does. He likes to close down further up, which suits our system because we do want to see him contributing to protecting our flanks. Note the black lines again.

Hopefully this style of defending allows us to suffocate the opposition and turn the ball over quickly, leading to us being in complete control of matches.

Opposition instructions will be set like this....

- We will show opponents wide defenders onto their opposite foot. So, the left fullback is shown to his right foot, and the right fullback is shown on to his left foot. 

- Wide midfielders will be given the same treatment as above

- Wide attacking midfielders / "wingers" will be shown down the flanks. So, an AML will be shown to his left foot. This is because I don't want to allow players to cut inside from those areas. Keep them close to the touchline and press them into a turnover / mistake.

(this is something I'd love to hear from you guys on. Do you think that using "trap outside" combined with these opposition instructions makes sense? In other words...  if we trap teams outside, we force the ball wide, and cut off passing lanes into the middle. BUT, if we show their wide defenders on to their opposite foot, does that negate the effect of the pressing trap, or does it perhaps enhance it? I will try to explore this in game)

- We will hard tackle the wide defenders, wide midfielders (ML/MR), wide attacking midfielders (AML/AMR), and AMC's.  These players tend to be weaker, so it's just common sense.

- Note, we are NOT instructing anyone on the team to "tight mark" wide players. This is because, our pressing trap is designed to funnel the ball wide. That means, our players will need to cut out those passing lanes. If we want to achieve this, how can we also tight mark a wide player at the same time? You can't be in two places at once!  (If I'm wrong about this, please let me know)!

- We will not use "trigger press more often" by default on the OI's, unless there is a particular threat that warrants it, or if I'm finding our press is not as effective as I'd like.  This is something that could change going forward, but for now, I'll stick with it.

Transition Phase

Very simple here.  We will counter press (again, complements what we do), and we will hold shape when recovering the ball, instead of looking to immediately counter.

This is sensible for a couple of reasons. We're pressing high, and teams will (typically) sit deep against us. What space is there to counter into? Not much! Also, we want to complement our pressing style by playing a patient attacking style. This allows us to control matches and also reserve some energy! Player fatigue is something you need to be careful with. This style of play allows us to be aggressive without going full Klopp-style insane physicality that runs players into the ground.  I'm going off on a tangent here, but I firmly believe Klopp burned out his players at Dortmund, and eventually this will happen at Liverpool (it already kind of is....)

The goalkeeper will distribute to the center backs, and I'm not fussed about whether he slows play down, or does it quick. So I leave it as is, for now.

Why haven't I mentioned mentality yet?!?!?

Mentality is something that I hate in this game. I think it's often misunderstood (myself included), and people tend to wrongly associate the name of the setting with the style of football they wish to see. This is not helpful.

Mentality is just a measure of risk. I believe firmly, if you are undecided, just go with balanced. You can't possibly be hurting your team by setting this to balanced.

In this situation, I will be using balanced, with an eye towards potentially moving this up or down a notch depending on how things are working (or not working lol).

I want my team to take SOME risks, obviously, but I really want to emphasize creating good quality chances. The higher risk settings will cause players to try more things, but also be more rushed. I don't want to be rushed.

Okay, now the meat and potatoes. Roles and duties, and how they fit together!

The first combination I'll mention is the center backs. TWO ball playing defenders. This is risky, for sure. But recognize that our overall mentality is balanced, and we do have excellent support around these players. I expect both of these guys to distribute the ball effectively, help us beat the press, and (obviously) defend.

The next combination is the sweeper keeper  + the two ball playing defenders. The idea here is that we want to be able to beat the press by having multiple avenues to dictate play from deep. The sweeper keeper also helps us with balls over the top. But these two roles (SK-S + BPD-D) should fit together like peanut butter and chocolate, or peanut butter and jelly. Or peanut butter and.... pretty much anything because I love peanut butter.

The next combination is the midfield trio.  I love a midfield trio.  This is because, 3 players allow us to divide their jobs equally and not be super reliant on 1 guy to do way more than he should. A midfield trio also provides a fabulous base for possession football, and good protection against teams trying to play through the middle of the pitch.

It starts with the base. A defensive midfielder on defend (DM-D). This guy needs to be able to break up play, support play (sort of) and hold his position. I think this role is really underused because people think generic roles are boring or less effective. Not true at all! Generic roles can be amazing if you have players with high decision making, and other mental attributes.

The two in front of the DM are the heartbeat(s) of the team. The engine room. These guys are heavily relied upon to help us keep the ball and create chances. Ideally, these are your most talented players overall.

The roaming playmaker is only available on support, so that's rather self-explanatory. The mezzala is set to "attack" because I want him involved in our pressing, and I also want to see him occupy space higher up the pitch when we are in our attacking phase. Simple, right?   This also gives us the balance we need.  A destroyer (DM-D), a creator / runner (RPM), and a "needle" (MEZZ-A)

But those central midfielders also combine with our wide attackers. This is where the idea of using combinations really starts to come into shape.

On the left side we have a inverted winger on attack (IW-A). This player should start wide, and cut inside with the ball. When he's got the ball at his feet, the defense should be terrified. He should combine really well with the roaming playmaker on his side. We can draw opponents into this space, which should create large gaps elsewhere. That's what we want. Create havoc.

A similar thing will happen on the right side. However, the Mezzala will drift further wide, and also dribble wide (potentially) (you can also change this instruction on the player).  The inside forward sits in that half space and occupies the opposing fullback. This forces the opponent to close down the Mezzala, but that also leaves a gap for a pass or a run into space.

On BOTH sides, the wingbacks are set to support. Their job here, is to help us retain possession in the opponents half, and create passing triangles with the players ahead of them.

This image here is designed to show you what behavior we want to see on either side of the pitch in attack. It is *NOT* expected to occur at the same time for both sides, obviously because the ball can't be in two places at one time. 

Below, we'll see what happens when the ball goes to one side.

The ball is on the left side, in the passing triangle between our 3 players, the WB, CM and AML.  Look at the options we have (green dotted lines) to attack.

We can create all kinds of problems for the defense here (this is assuming we face a back 4, but a back 3 isn't radically different)

Support players will get forward when necessary, and they can absolutely score plenty of goals. So the IF-S could easily be a goal scorer here, for example.

The pressing forward (PF-A) tends to attack similar to the advanced forward, so I expect him to pin the center backs, which should force some difficult decisions for the defense to make.

However, because of this behavior from our forward, we need to be careful that he isn't getting penned in by an offside trap, or rendered less effective by a defense dropping deep. If that happens, we might go with a support duty (or different role) that comes deeper to draw them out. But I think this original plan should work fine because we have a lot of movement and we're not reliant solely on the forward for goals.

Final Thoughts

This is how we use role combinations to create a system that achieves our goals on the pitch.

Instead of choosing roles *exclusively* based on player attributes, or what we like, we try to pick roles that fit well together like a puzzle. Of course, I still believe you should be pragmatic, and give players roles that are sensible for what they can do.  But ultimately, any player can play any role. It's just a matter of how effective will they be? If you tell someone like Chris Wood to play as a False 9, do you think he's going to be effective in the way that someone like Messi would be? No lol.  But that doesn't mean you can't do it.

Anyway, I've been writing long enough here, so I'll leave it at that.

Thanks for reading.

*EDIT* -  Please keep an eye out for replies by me on this thread where I will provide updates.

Edited January 12, 2023 by bababooey
Including updates

[Skywalk3r83]

Great piece to read, keep it up and let us know how the save is going!

[bababooey]

Here is what the team looks like in the build up phase (first preseason match)....

We're in blue (obviously, Chelsea) and the other team is in white.  4-3-3 vs. 4-4-2. 

Notice how deep their CM's are protecting their defense. Let's see if our creative midfielders can be effective against that type of thing.

Also, note the huge space in between their forwards and CM's.

Now the next few seconds, you see Lukaku drop into midfield to support play (remember he's a PF-A but still does this)

Look at the circled spaces. This is what we want to see. Space!  He played the ball out wide to Sterling (IW-A) who then lost possession on a bad first touch. No big deal.

Here's a move that resulted in a fantastic chance (shot was saved).  The other team is defending quite wide. So what does Reece James do? He plays a beauty of a pass to Mount, who takes a touch, and slides a through ball between the defenders for the onrushing Sterling.  *chefs kiss*

 

 

 

[DarJ]

5 hours ago, bababooey said:

if we show their wide defenders on to their opposite foot, does that negate the effect of the pressing trap, or does it perhaps enhance it?

I might seem counterintuitive to what you’re trying to do but it could still work if you’re maybe going to tight mark the players in the middle and tackle them hard so they can’t receive the ball in the first place so the fullbacks has only the option to play a long pass. 
The alternative is to show them wide but you’ll be leaving them to move up the pitch and potentially double up on your fullbacks if your wide players don’t come back to defend 

[DarJ]

How are you planning to defend against teams that play with 2 strikers and an attacking midfielder? 
you might not come against a lot of teams that play like that in the premier league but you will come across it a lot in serie A

[bababooey]

1 minute ago, DarJ said:

How are you planning to defend against teams that play with 2 strikers and an attacking midfielder? 
you might not come against a lot of teams that play like that in the premier league but you will come across it a lot in serie A

Well, it depends on the context. Is it a team that is better than us, away from home? Then I would make some changes.

Is it a team that isn't better than us? I would stick with what we do and adjust if needed. We can easily mark an AMC out of a game, which would really impact the attack of a team playing something narrow like a 4-3-1-2.

[bababooey]

Here's a screenshot of our passing combinations in a recent friendly match.

What you can't see here, is the number of key passes. We had 20 of them.

HOWEVER. The problem I see, is we're not accomplishing our goal of creating quality over quantity.

We are generating a lot of key passes, but these look more like crosses than passes to me. And, we're not yet generating those high value clear cut chances. Or even half chances!

14 of our 20 key passes were sideways. That is not what we're looking for, ideally. I want to see more variation there, and I think this confirms my suspicion that we're basically just slamming home crosses.

We need to make some adjustments. 

 

[bababooey]

Okay so following up on my last post.  I've overlaid key passes with crosses completed. As you can (kinda) see here, this is exactly what I thought I was seeing.

Basically, the vast majority of our key passes are actually just crosses. That is not what we want. We want to probe and control. This is like... dominant wing back.

So changes will be made here. I'm just not sure exactly what I'm going to change just yet.

[wazzaflow10]

4 hours ago, DarJ said:

How are you planning to defend against teams that play with 2 strikers and an attacking midfielder? 
you might not come against a lot of teams that play like that in the premier league but you will come across it a lot in serie A

There's quite a bit of 3-4-2-1's with 2 AM's in my save in England. If I'm home and expected to win, I typically start with a switch to a 4-2-3-1 and a mid block with an anchor man or DMd playing on the side of the AM that pushes forward and a DLPs on the other. It accomplishes twothings.

One it gives the opposition a chance to vacate the space I want to attack. Playing a high line against a team who is content to sit in or sparingly counter doesn't accomplish much imo. They're not going to take many risks so putting them in positions to only take risks causes them to just hoof it away. What we want is for them to move up the field enough for us to actually hit them on the counter if we can win it in midfield. 

Two it gives me a 4-3 numerical advantage at the back and lets my fullbacks/wingbacks push up higher to overload the outside, Having one of the fullbacks on attack duty is key to the overload I leave the other on support for balance. And if you're confident in your defense you can put him on the DLPs side to really cause headaches with overload down that flank. Their AM is forced to decide to either mark the DLPs and make it a 3-2 at the back or let the DLPs dictate the game when I'm in possession. I'll also pull my forward into the AM strata as a CompFwd(s) if I have a player capable or DLFs/PFs/F9 otherwise. Playing through the middle of this formation is impossible so creating some movement between a CF and AM to force their central CB to make a decision is a good way to open up space for an IF/IW/AMa/SS who can get behind one of the other two CB's. 

I don't have the slightest idea if that's right but it works for me most games. 

[Sarriball14]

I’m fascinated to see how this pans out for you. As a huge Chelsea fan, I’ve tried and failed with Chelsea on this years FM. Can’t seem to make anything work, but I’m starting to think that it’s just Chelsea aren’t very good on the game. I’ve noticed that in nearly everyone’s posts when posting league table positions etc… you always see Chelsea mid table across the board. Now I’m not saying they are impossible to manage but it’s definitely something I’ve noticed a lot when reading other peoples posts or when looking at videos of people posting their tactics 

[bababooey]

2 hours ago, Sarriball14 said:

I’m fascinated to see how this pans out for you. As a huge Chelsea fan, I’ve tried and failed with Chelsea on this years FM. Can’t seem to make anything work, but I’m starting to think that it’s just Chelsea aren’t very good on the game. I’ve noticed that in nearly everyone’s posts when posting league table positions etc… you always see Chelsea mid table across the board. Now I’m not saying they are impossible to manage but it’s definitely something I’ve noticed a lot when reading other peoples posts or when looking at videos of people posting their tactics 

Chelsea are fascinating in this year's edition of FM, as well as in real life as you know...

When I started this project, I took over in late july '22 so we didn't have much preseason left, and the schedule for Chelsea for the first half of the year was B R U T A L.

I tried messing around with a 4-2(dm)-3-1 and had very mixed results. Loaned in Giroud to play striker, sold off Thiago Silva (he's too slow to play in my system), and Real Madrid bought Jorginho b/c he wouldnt renew his contract with us.

Major changes!  But.... We recovered well and finished 4th, AND got to both the FA Cup semi's and Champions League semi's.  I used a 4-1-4-1 defensive system in tough away matches to help us along the way.

Now that I've had a full preseason, and a bunch of squad changes, things are looking very promising.  I'm going to do another reply here detailing what is going on.

[bababooey]

Interesting development.  We have changed a few more roles and duties to give what I think, and hope, will be better balance to the team AND better suit the goal of possession football....

We've also changed to "positive" mentality because I felt like we just weren't taking on enough risk.

See how sometimes the ideas you had going into this can end up being off?  I have tweaked a good amount since the initial post. I think it's very hard to get things exactly right on the first attempt.

So far, we're doing very well. But I'm disappointed with a couple of draws we had PRIOR TO tweaking things to what you see above.

Hopefully this will give us more of what we want.

"Nobody on your flanks is on attack, how will this work?!?!??"  Well, let's see...

 

[Sarriball14]

10 hours ago, bababooey said:

Interesting development.  We have changed a few more roles and duties to give what I think, and hope, will be better balance to the team AND better suit the goal of possession football....

We've also changed to "positive" mentality because I felt like we just weren't taking on enough risk.

See how sometimes the ideas you had going into this can end up being off?  I have tweaked a good amount since the initial post. I think it's very hard to get things exactly right on the first attempt.

So far, we're doing very well. But I'm disappointed with a couple of draws we had PRIOR TO tweaking things to what you see above.

Hopefully this will give us more of what we want.

"Nobody on your flanks is on attack, how will this work?!?!??"  Well, let's see...

 

Any player instructions?

[Rashidi]

@bababooeyI am gonna kick start a new series on playmaker combos with the express purpose of overloading areas and to create cross diagonal chances. And definitely gonna be linking back to ur thread cos I think there are some interesting ways they can work. Looking forward to seeing how your journey unfolds.

[bababooey]

12 minutes ago, Rashidi said:

@bababooeyI am gonna kick start a new series on my playmaker combos with the express purpose of overloading areas and to create cross diagonal chances. And definitely gonna be linking back to ur thread cos I think there are some interesting ways they can work. Looking forward to seeing how your journey unfolds.

Honestly, I'm feeling a bit jaded about it. We just aren't scoring goals at the rate I was hoping for. It's left me wondering if the players I have just aren't up to it.

Sterling, Havertz, Lukaku, Mount, Enzo Fernandez, Reece James, Asensio, Pulisic, etc. 

It's just so inconsistent. We also don't dominate enough games for my liking. Some of our team statistics are quite good, in terms of progressive passes and final 3rd passes.

But we are getting dusted in "high intensity sprints" for example.

Media prediction has us finishing 3rd so maybe my expectations are too high?

 

We have less goals scored than freakin' Nottingham Forest.  I mean, no offense to fans of the trees, but that's ridiculous.

Part of this is down to conversion rates. City, for example is at 18% which is nuts. That will even out eventually, we're down there at 11%.

Without our 3 goals from corners I'd be even more concerned, quite frankly.

It's like the only way we can generate chances is via crossing. We lead the league in crossing % which is nice.

But I dont want to play that way. Crosses are, IMO low-value chances.

Edited January 13, 2023 by bababooey

[Rashidi]

What are are your tempo settings, personally I dont like using the trap instructions, preferring instead to use OIs. It doesn't mean that I am adapting to how the opp plays. When using OIs the pressing angle instructions when we show players onto specific feet can also force them to go wide or narrow., You are also spending a lot of time building up play from what I can tell from the roles and duties without really attacking the space. Perhaps the IF on the right should be on attack duty.  The striker is a DLF(A) who plays through balls forward, but against teams that are defending you wont see him getting as many chances to do that since your roles are on support.
 

[bababooey]

9 minutes ago, Rashidi said:

What are are your tempo settings, personally I dont like using the trap instructions, preferring instead to use OIs. It doesn't mean that I am adapting to how the opp plays. When using OIs the pressing angle instructions when we show players onto specific feet can also force them to go wide or narrow., You are also spending a lot of time building up play from what I can tell from the roles and duties without really attacking the space. Perhaps the IF on the right should be on attack duty.  The striker is a DLF(A) who plays through balls forward, but against teams that are defending you wont see him getting as many chances to do that since your roles are on support.
 

I've been using the lowest possible tempo. And I've been playing without any pressing traps except OI's the last couple of matches.  I just don't like how it works right now, which is a shame!

I'm thinking of stripping this down a bit and removing some instructions....

Balanced Mentality

Shorter Passing, Play out of Defense, Be More Expressive  (and that's it)

Counter-press, (no selection for counter or hold shape)

High press, higher line, prevent GK dist, step up more (and that's it)

 

This way I can focus in more on the roles and stop trying to create a super specific approach.

I'm not getting enough from Mount or James, two of my key players. I need to figure out how to get them going.

**edit** maybe something like this:

 

Edited January 13, 2023 by bababooey

[saware]

I play a similar system on a positive mentality. Instructions are:-

Short passing

Play out of defence

Low crosses

Work ball into box

High LOE

Much higher defensive line

Press more

Prevent short GK distribution

In terms of roles & duties I have the same as above apart from:

LB as CWB-S

RCM as BWM-S/CM-S

LCM as AP-S/MEZ-S

AMR as IF-S

CF as AF-A/PF-A

Have found that CFs have scored consistently, both my 2 main options have around 30 goals for the season.

[wazzaflow10]

13 hours ago, bababooey said:

I've been using the lowest possible tempo. And I've been playing without any pressing traps except OI's the last couple of matches.  I just don't like how it works right now, which is a shame!

I'm thinking of stripping this down a bit and removing some instructions....

Balanced Mentality

Shorter Passing, Play out of Defense, Be More Expressive  (and that's it)

Counter-press, (no selection for counter or hold shape)

High press, higher line, prevent GK dist, step up more (and that's it)

 

This way I can focus in more on the roles and stop trying to create a super specific approach.

I'm not getting enough from Mount or James, two of my key players. I need to figure out how to get them going.

**edit** maybe something like this:

 

I would swap Mount and Fernandez in this system and put Sterling on IF(a) and possibly Fernandez on CM(s) (Possibly with the stay wider and/or take more risk/more direct passes PIs - game by game, player by player decision). Fernandez Havertz and James (Plus Lukaku & Kante in some situations) will all be occupying the same area. I think that's too many. There's no outlet to move out of the right side of the pitch without hitting a long ball to either Mount or Sterling. I get what you're trying to do in theory but you've compressed the area where your playmaker is too much. 

In attack with your current formation you'll look something like:

Sterling   Mount       -                            -                 -

    -               -           Lukaku                     -              James

   -                -         Fernandez         Havertz            -

   Chilwell               -        Kante            -                    -

There's no real release valve here for Havertz. It'll get very congested around Havertz and result in a lot of hopeful hurried diagonals rather than pin pointed killer passes.

Instead you want it to look like this

Sterling      -                -                   Mount             -

    -               -            Lukaku                 -              James

   -        Fernandez       -              Havertz             -

   Chilwell        -        Kante            -                    -

Now you have at least two ways to attack the oppostition by pulling the defense towards Havertz but also giving him room to operate.

the primary way is to release Mount and James down the right and potentially play 2v1 or 2v2 with the idea they can square/cross to Sterling (I'd put low crosses on as a TI). Lukaku is also going arrive late in the area with a full head of steam if the play makes it down the to byline. 

The second way is if Havertz gets the ball into Fernandez and the defense is napping, ball watching etc... Sterling could have a through ball between the RB and RCB (who might be focused Lukaku or Mount). 

The key is recognizing your strategy to score with this idea is isolate Sterling against a RB. So tactically we want to pull their defense towards the right side of the pitch as much as possible without congesting the area for our creative players and give each player an opportunity to make progressive passes.

 

[The3points]

I think the key passes were so wide in your first example was the width setting. Your first pass map had no green connection to the six, which probably meant too much wing play and that's what was causing the problem

[bababooey]

We are currently playing some REALLY liquid football. I'm pleased, for now anyway lol. I've made some additional tweaks and this is our main approach now:

And here is how this looks in the attacking phase, which I think is something you really want to see because understanding how players move in different phases is key to understanding tactics.

Normally, on a positive mentality, I might limit myself to using 2 attack duties. This is foolish. You can't assume that there is a proper number of "attack", "support" or "defend" duties for a given mentality.

It all depends on what you're trying to do, and what your team is capable of.  If I assigned 3 attack duties, 4 support duties, and 3 defend duties, I would expect to see more of a "possession" style and less of a "direct" approach.

If I assigned 1 attack duty, 6 support and 3 defend, we would *definitely* be trying to keep hold of the ball for long periods, and the system might not be very potent going for goal.

So it all depends, basically.

 

[bababooey]

Well folks, this project crashed and burned. I resigned early January in my second season.

Managing in the Premier League is a slog. There are no breaks. Overpowered teams (City + Liverpool). Overall, just a miserable experience.

I hate Chelsea anyway. Let it burn.

[phnompenhandy]

Lukaku as a poacher!!!!

Unlucky mate. You go again?

[bababooey]

14 hours ago, phnompenhandy said:

Lukaku as a poacher!!!!

Unlucky mate. You go again?

Nope. I genuinely hate managing in the premier league in FM. It's just a slog. It's such a miserable experience.

[phnompenhandy]

19 minutes ago, bababooey said:

Nope. I genuinely hate managing in the premier league in FM. It's just a slog. It's such a miserable experience.

In over 20 years, I've only managed in the PL once, with a lowest league save where I got to the top for the one and only time with FM17 IIRC. I soon got bored.

[DarJ]

19 hours ago, bababooey said:

I resigned early January in my second season

Do you still have the save file?

[LHurlz]

20 hours ago, bababooey said:

Nope. I genuinely hate managing in the premier league in FM. It's just a slog. It's such a miserable experience.

Off topic, but what leagues do you find are the most fun to manage in?

[Skora11]

On 15/01/2023 at 00:12, bababooey said:

Well folks, this project crashed and burned. I resigned early January in my second season.

Managing in the Premier League is a slog. There are no breaks. Overpowered teams (City + Liverpool). Overall, just a miserable experience.

I hate Chelsea anyway. Let it burn.

Currently just over half way through my 2nd season with Utd and it is pretty tough. Although managed to finish 3rd and win the FA Cup (beat Pool semi-final and City in the final) I was a fair bit behind Liverpool who just blew everyone away. Scoring well over 100 goals in the process. 

This season had started pretty poor, especially away from home, where my main tactic was far too attacking and left far too many gaps in the middle and in behind. Have now changed to a much more solid starting tactic which is still scoring a decent amount of goals but conceding far less. Think it is something like 12 wins and 1 loss (Pool at home 1-0) since changing. Now very much in contention for the title but it could be any one from five (including West Ham!!!).

Anyway, hopefully I have found the right tactic that just needs the occasional tweak going forward. 

I have not signed a single player over 18 as well as it is a self imposed rule to make it slightly more difficult (well in the earlier years at least). I was contemplating using the academy only but thought I may get bored as I do like scouting for young upcoming players.

[bababooey]

On 16/01/2023 at 07:07, LHurlz said:

Off topic, but what leagues do you find are the most fun to manage in?

Germany, Spain, Portugal and Italy. 

[bababooey]

On 15/01/2023 at 14:42, DarJ said:

Do you still have the save file?

Unfortunately, no, I saved over it with my latest one. Sorry about that.

[axelmuller]

Too bad it didn't work out. Here is a great piece of analysis about Positional Play under Lampard's era for all aspiring Chelsea managers out there: https://weaintgotnohistory.sbnation.com/features/2020/10/14/21515543/re-imagining-frank-lampards-chelsea-a-positional-play-game-model

[reg22]

Sorry it didn't work out.

There are still lots of nuggets in here. I appreciate the post and the contents of the journey!

[poma]

On 12/01/2023 at 13:36, Sarriball14 said:

I’m fascinated to see how this pans out for you. As a huge Chelsea fan, I’ve tried and failed with Chelsea on this years FM. Can’t seem to make anything work, but I’m starting to think that it’s just Chelsea aren’t very good on the game. I’ve noticed that in nearly everyone’s posts when posting league table positions etc… you always see Chelsea mid table across the board. Now I’m not saying they are impossible to manage but it’s definitely something I’ve noticed a lot when reading other peoples posts or when looking at videos of people posting their tactics 

Agree, haven't seen anyone success with Chelsea in FM23 (i don't count the "holiday-through-a-whole-season-fake-tactics")

In pre-season the team play fantastic with the tactic you setup but when the season starts everything is gone! Nothing works and you get trashed by almost every team you are up against. (lucky to get a draw)

I stopped playing the game before X-mas, no fun, no good and hope the 2024 version is better.

Keep on trying and keep up your good work 

[gunnerfan]

On 17/01/2023 at 22:46, bababooey said:

Germany, Spain, Portugal and Italy. 

As much as I love Arsenal, I stopped managing in the EPL back in FM20. It is, as you say, a slog, and after a while I found the almost perpetual rain in matches depressing. I managed in Spain in FM21 and Italy in 22. Doing a journeyman save in 23 that started in Brazil and now has moved to Spain. Aiming for either France or Germany for the next phase.

[bosque]

I love Bundesliga because it only has 18 teams so you have more time to breathe  and if you make logical steps you can end up beating Bayern.