FM 24 Route One Tactical Workshop

[DrChristopher]

Hey Everyone,

After seeing a clip of big Sam saying all young managers play tiki taka, I vowed to prove him wrong and play route one all FM 24 long. I don't know where to begin and so I wanted to make this peer-help forum for route one madlads. I ported over my Andorran Save. We are Sant Julia in the Andorran First Division. We currently are training all three of the default route one tactical suggestions. However we are preferential to this 4-3-3. I like it because I can move from Cautious to Positive around the half time mark depending on need with only switching my CM to either defend, support, or attack.

 

We are struggling a bit to put shots on target despite a good number of chances. 

 

 

My favorite player has been my BBM he is playing great. 

 

 

Anyone seeing are able to explain to me why he is succeeding so well and how I can preserve or replicate his play with other players?

 

 

Please feel free to discuss your own route one tactical journeys. Any suggestions are super appreciated. 

Cheers! Best of Luck this go round!

[DrChristopher]

So one season down. Was projected a little better than I finished started going with a positive tactic half way through the season as more teams started respecting us and playing 2 DMs. 

The only big change I've been making is setting the CM - Support to Attack. 

Occasionally when they are weaker on the left ill switch the FB and W side to the left. Most of my players are still hanging in the 3rd to 7th in stats compared to the league. Need a better keeper and target man, but trying to think if there is any wrinkle you would add. Best of luck to all the other long ball tacticians.

[clayts]

Intrigued by this thread I have also set my self to play route one. 

Iv started with Sheffield United just because of the challenge to keep them up.

Iv just got through to the end of the jan transfer window I’m sitting 17th struggling against the top half of the table teams. 
 

After tinkering with  442 and not been any where defensively sound and not scoring or creating chances Iv  settled with a 4132 I signed Lyndon Dykes to bully the defenders. 
 

il let you know how I get on once Iv finished the season. 
 

keep us posted on your results.

[clayts]

[thats life]

On 05/11/2023 at 15:57, DrChristopher said:

So one season down. Was projected a little better than I finished started going with a positive tactic half way through the season as more teams started respecting us and playing 2 DMs. 

The only big change I've been making is setting the CM - Support to Attack. 

Occasionally when they are weaker on the left ill switch the FB and W side to the left. Most of my players are still hanging in the 3rd to 7th in stats compared to the league. Need a better keeper and target man, but trying to think if there is any wrinkle you would add. Best of luck to all the other long ball tacticians.

What instructions do you have for CM on attack ? 

[ceefax the cat]

It's quite difficult to convince the fullbacks to launch that diagonal ball to the big man with any great regularity isn't it. In theory a very attacking mentality and maxed out passing focused down the middle should probably do it but no.

Edited November 8, 2023 by ceefax the cat

[寸身辛木]

5 hours ago, ceefax the cat said:

It's quite difficult to convince the fullbacks to launch that diagonal ball to the big man with any great regularity isn't it. In theory a very attacking mentality and maxed out passing focused down the middle should probably do it but no.

Very true. Long ball needs an overhaul in this game. When using a long ball tactic, player behaviour should be more distinctive, how the target man signals for a long ball, how players move in clusters to compete for header and loose ball, etc.

[clayts]

10 hours ago, ceefax the cat said:

It's quite difficult to convince the fullbacks to launch that diagonal ball to the big man with any great regularity isn't it. In theory a very attacking mentality and maxed out passing focused down the middle should probably do it but no.

Yes it is I find my full backs just pass back or get caught out in possession rather then lumping it forward to the TM very frustrating

[ceefax the cat]

Probably worth a feature request isn't it

[lied90]

8 hours ago, clayts said:

Yes it is I find my full backs just pass back or get caught out in possession rather then lumping it forward to the TM very frustrating

Have you tried including take more risk, deep crossing, cross more etc on them?

[ceefax the cat]

 

22 minutes ago, lied90 said:

Have you tried including take more risk, deep crossing, cross more etc on them?

Absolutely every available lever has been pulled to the max, yes.

Here's something: do we think there's more chance of an optimistic long ball to the big man on 'Very Attacking' (because it's the least safe, most direct possible pass) or 'Very Defensive' (because passing it about at the back is inherently risky and it's easier to just get rid of it)?

[clayts]

29 minutes ago, lied90 said:

Have you tried including take more risk, deep crossing, cross more etc on them?

Yes mate I have, not giving up though will keep trying to get it working 

[clayts]

9 minutes ago, ceefax the cat said:

 

Here's something: do we think there's more chance of an optimistic long ball to the big man on 'Very Attacking' (because it's the least safe, most direct possible pass) or 'Very Defensive' (because passing it about at the back is inherently risky and it's easier to just get rid of it)?

Deffo worth a try I’d say, il try it with very defensive first see how it goes 

[Brian]

On 06/11/2023 at 16:50, clayts said:

I see 18 TI's.. how do you see that working? 

[clayts]

1 hour ago, Brian said:

I see 18 TI's.. how do you see that working? 

Meh well it worked okay until my laptop died 😂 

[寸身辛木]

8 hours ago, clayts said:

Yes mate I have, not giving up though will keep trying to get it working 

Player traits are often overlooked. You might want to bestow traits like Crosses Early or Tries Long Passes with IGE on your fullbacks.

[[SFW]Medic Tim]

 any update?

I wanna make tony pulis proud

[clayts]

Thought i would do an update on my struggles with the route one direction.

iv just finished the 3rd season finishing 13th after struggling for the first two seasons and tinkering alot i settled on this formation had a strong finish after making my two WBS att rather then support seemed to give us an outlet further up the pitch i also gave my Mezzala an ATT duty rather then support.

iv made alot of personnel changes only signing players over 6ft with the exception of macatee and the wingbacks.

Happy that most of my assists have come from crosses and scored 17 headers also scored from 11 corners.

Onto the 4th season and finding some more hidden giant gems.

Any updates from the OP?

[lied90]

On 05/12/2023 at 20:30, clayts said:

Any updates from the OP?

Gonna guess he gave up, have to be a masochist to enjoy route one in FM.

[clayts]

36 minutes ago, lied90 said:

Gonna guess he gave up, have to be a masochist to enjoy route one in FM.

🤣🤣🤣 just found something out about my self. 
 

Route one in today’s age is never going to win a prem league….”hold my beer” 

[Brian]

Going Route One in the 10th tier in England.

Almost bottom at the league in terms of possession, but first at goals scored and non penalty xG. 

[ceefax the cat]

I'm at the point of giving up with true hoofball for this year, really. You can have passing set to extremely direct, tempo very high, yadda yadda yadda and they just will not pump it to the big man or float lots of crosses in from deep. I just see the same patterns of play over and over, none of which I've actually requested. If anyone has had any success playing route 1 to an aerially dominant TM then I'd love to know how because I feel like I've tried basically every set of tactical instructions that could be interpreted that way. With passing absolutely maxed out, I'm still seeing wingbacks getting it in space and then just passing inside, or a wide playmaker with oceans in front of him lay it back to the fullback. There's absolutely nothing I can do to make them simply hang it up at the edge of the box where the TARGET effing MAN is standing with a poacher ready to feed off him. The palette of passes available to even the most direct fullback is either to pass it up the line, sideways into midfield, or back to the centre half. If he tries an ambitious long pass, it's likely to be an attempt to switch play by smashing it across your exposed midfield.

The closest I can get is that a TM(s) will drop off, usually incredibly deep, to win a loose ball and pass it back to the defenders, achieving a territorial gain of precisely 0 yards. The idea of a flick-on, or a knockdown, or otherwise bringing his teammates into play higher up the field, seems alien to him. Set him to TM(a) and watch him disappear completely from your life until, at the end of a tedious, bog standard short passing move, he arrives on the end of a cross. High percentage passes all the way, no matter what you say.

If anyone can reliably make the first phase of their attack a long ball with support for the TM, answers on a postcard please. I feel like the game expects you to play short passing, pressing football with overlaps and crosses from the byline, and if you deviate from those instructions then basically you'll see your players continue to play short passing football, but quite badly.

Edited December 19, 2023 by ceefax the cat

[crusadertsar]

1 hour ago, ceefax the cat said:

I'm at the point of giving up with true hoofball for this year, really. You can have passing set to extremely direct, tempo very high, yadda yadda yadda and they just will not pump it to the big man or float lots of crosses in from deep. I just see the same patterns of play over and over, none of which I've actually requested. If anyone has had any success playing route 1 to an aerially dominant TM then I'd love to know how because I feel like I've tried basically every set of tactical instructions that could be interpreted that way. With passing absolutely maxed out, I'm still seeing wingbacks getting it in space and then just passing inside, or a wide playmaker with oceans in front of him lay it back to the fullback. There's absolutely nothing I can do to make them simply hang it up at the edge of the box where the TARGET effing MAN is standing with a poacher ready to feed off him. The palette of passes available to even the most direct fullback is either to pass it up the line, sideways into midfield, or back to the centre half.

The closest I can get is that a TM(s) will drop off, usually incredibly deep, to win a loose ball and pass it back to the defenders, achieving a territorial gain of precisely 0 yards. The idea of a flick-on, or a knockdown, or otherwise bringing his teammates into play higher up the field, seems alien to him. Set him to TM(a) and watch him disappear completely from your life until, at the end of a tedious, bog standard short passing move, he arrives on the end of a cross. High percentage passes all the way, no matter what you say.

If anyone can reliably make the first phase of their attack a long ball with support for the TM, answers on a postcard please. I feel like the game expects you to play short passing, pressing football with overlaps and crosses from the byline, and if you deviate from those instructions then basically you'll see your players continue to play short passing football, but quite badly.

I have had most luck getting Targetman-like behavior from my striker Umar Sadiq playing as AF in narrow diamond tactic. My tactic is more of a fluid counter-attacking system however. Definitely not Route One. I use early crosses instruction though.

Edited December 19, 2023 by crusadertsar

[lied90]

16 hours ago, ceefax the cat said:

I'm at the point of giving up with true hoofball for this year, really. You can have passing set to extremely direct, tempo very high, yadda yadda yadda and they just will not pump it to the big man or float lots of crosses in from deep. I just see the same patterns of play over and over, none of which I've actually requested. If anyone has had any success playing route 1 to an aerially dominant TM then I'd love to know how because I feel like I've tried basically every set of tactical instructions that could be interpreted that way. With passing absolutely maxed out, I'm still seeing wingbacks getting it in space and then just passing inside, or a wide playmaker with oceans in front of him lay it back to the fullback. There's absolutely nothing I can do to make them simply hang it up at the edge of the box where the TARGET effing MAN is standing with a poacher ready to feed off him. The palette of passes available to even the most direct fullback is either to pass it up the line, sideways into midfield, or back to the centre half. If he tries an ambitious long pass, it's likely to be an attempt to switch play by smashing it across your exposed midfield.

The closest I can get is that a TM(s) will drop off, usually incredibly deep, to win a loose ball and pass it back to the defenders, achieving a territorial gain of precisely 0 yards. The idea of a flick-on, or a knockdown, or otherwise bringing his teammates into play higher up the field, seems alien to him. Set him to TM(a) and watch him disappear completely from your life until, at the end of a tedious, bog standard short passing move, he arrives on the end of a cross. High percentage passes all the way, no matter what you say.

If anyone can reliably make the first phase of their attack a long ball with support for the TM, answers on a postcard please. I feel like the game expects you to play short passing, pressing football with overlaps and crosses from the byline, and if you deviate from those instructions then basically you'll see your players continue to play short passing football, but quite badly.

I feel you.

Fullbacks just do not attempt floated crosses from deep towards a target forward, they simply don't. I forgot which thread but I calculated how often my FBs attempted crosses at all even with extremely direct passing, cross more often, cross from deep etc and the number was so low.

CBs with attempts long passes trait hoofs it a bit more to my TF, from my observations.

GK has a habit of missing my TF when doing long kicks, I don't understand why. My solution to this is simple, have two tall forwards instead of one

Wingers with instructions to put in floating crosses works great.

I'm doing a save playing route one if it's of any interest. Not much deep diving into how route on plays in FM, but I might in the future.

 

[ceefax the cat]

I've even tried using the in-game editor to add traits like 'Crosses Early'. Nope. Pass down the line, pass inside, cross if you get to the byline.

As for keepers repeatedly aiming long kicks at the diminutive poacher, I've found that you either play 2 aerially dominant forwards, or use the IGE to make your poacher a shadow striker, so they're making runs from behind and around the TM and are no longer the furthest player forward when possession is won. Even then, your keeper will quite regularly hit the SS but perhaps not with the same mind-numbing regularity as before. The keeper is so reluctant just to punt it in the general direction of the TM that I end up asking him to roll it out, in the hope a defender will do it instead. Nah. They'd prefer to channel f**king De Zerbi and work it slowly along the back four. You'd never in a million years guess from watching the game that their instructions are to be more disciplined, much more direct with a much higher tempo. Your Azerbaijan 2nd tier back four thinks it's playing in Serie A.

The only players who come close to doing what they're asked to with this style are defensive wingers, who tend to put a cross in as soon as they get past their man. Give a wide midfielder all of the same instructions and.... nope. So you're stuck with a player who will constantly get booked or sent off, who closes down more than you might want him to and is disqualified from other potentially handy instructions. I tried for a while to get a winger to cut inside and hit inswinging crosses from deep, the way an inverted winger in a defensive, target man-based system might regularly do. Sit narrower, cut inside, cross from deep, direct passing, aim for Target Forward, take more risks etc.... Naturally you find that they most often end up going to the byline on their weaker foot and either crossing badly from there or passing it back to the cross-shy fullback who'd rather work it tentatively across midfield despite there being a massive lummox standing at the far post.

NCB will occasionally smash it long but even then, it's quite a rare event and they're in no way inclined to aim for the target man.. Ask the same League Two clogger to play as a rotating libero in a system that shifts to a gegenpressing 3-2-5 in possession though, and you're on, zero training required. This game is fun when it occasionally clicks but really you're looking at one style of play and the further you get from high pressing, possession based football, the more the match engine just seems to break down and ignore you.

Edited December 20, 2023 by ceefax the cat

[lied90]

3 hours ago, ceefax the cat said:

I've even tried using the in-game editor to add traits like 'Crosses Early'. Nope. Pass down the line, pass inside, cross if you get to the byline.

As for keepers repeatedly aiming long kicks at the diminutive poacher, I've found that you either play 2 aerially dominant forwards, or use the IGE to make your poacher a shadow striker, so they're making runs from behind and around the TM and are no longer the furthest player forward when possession is won. Even then, your keeper will quite regularly hit the SS but perhaps not with the same mind-numbing regularity as before. The keeper is so reluctant just to punt it in the general direction of the TM that I end up asking him to roll it out, in the hope a defender will do it instead. Nah. They'd prefer to channel f**king De Zerbi and work it slowly along the back four. You'd never in a million years guess from watching the game that their instructions are to be more disciplined, much more direct with a much higher tempo. Your Azerbaijan 2nd tier back four thinks it's playing in Serie A.

The only players who come close to doing what they're asked to with this style are defensive wingers, who tend to put a cross in as soon as they get past their man. Give a wide midfielder all of the same instructions and.... nope. So you're stuck with a player who will constantly get booked or sent off, who closes down more than you might want him to and is disqualified from other potentially handy instructions. I tried for a while to get a winger to cut inside and hit inswinging crosses from deep, the way an inverted winger in a defensive, target man-based system might regularly do. Sit narrower, cut inside, cross from deep, direct passing, aim for Target Forward, take more risks etc.... Naturally you find that they most often end up going to the byline on their weaker foot and either crossing badly from there or passing it back to the cross-shy fullback who'd rather work it tentatively across midfield despite there being a massive lummox standing at the far post.

NCB will occasionally smash it long but even then, it's quite a rare event and they're in no way inclined to aim for the target man.. Ask the same League Two clogger to play as a rotating libero in a system that shifts to a gegenpressing 3-2-5 in possession though, and you're on, zero training required. This game is fun when it occasionally clicks but really you're looking at one style of play and the further you get from high pressing, possession based football, the more the match engine just seems to break down and ignore you.

I think the reason is simple.

Most people just play on key highlights and want to see some variation of gengenpress or tiki taka, happy of they win and see some slick quick short passing.

How small part of the FM community must we be that wish to see extreme hoofball. I doubt it's a priority for SI.

[ceefax the cat]

 

5 hours ago, lied90 said:

I think the reason is simple.

Most people just play on key highlights and want to see some variation of gengenpress or tiki taka, happy of they win and see some slick quick short passing.

How small part of the FM community must we be that wish to see extreme hoofball. I doubt it's a priority for SI.

I'm sure you're right and there are barely any hardcore hoofball enthusiasts, but the game as a whole would be waaaay richer and make more sense if it was easier to play simple football with average players than to implement the most intricate, risky, technically challenging and physically demanding form of the sport ever invented. Gegenpressing being a shortcut to success makes absolutely no sense and robs the game of so much. That it's way harder to succeed and get a good system going if you play simply and without risk is just totally arse-about-face.

I'm not even really after extreme hoofball tbh. Just a no-frills, direct approach as seen played by non-elite teams all over the world, all the time. Two banks of four and stick crosses in when you get the chance. Kind of the default setting for football at most levels.

Edited December 20, 2023 by ceefax the cat

[Hootieleece]

My Tactic is called Route One in the Game by the Press in my Career Update Thread and I find myself playing a lot of short passing. when crosses are played by Wingbacks or longballs are hoofed by the Goalie they target the AF-A instead of the Target Man -Support.

I have a board and fans that are demanding Direct play, and they are always criticizing me for not being direct enough! (Paris FC)

[ceefax the cat]

Same here... board and supporters insisting on a defensive, direct counterattacking style, which is exactly what my instructions are. Man-mark, defend deep and get it forward quickly, TM starting every game. There is absolutely no way to keep them happy

[Houdini777]

Got myself all excited to get started with a "conquer Europe with route one" save only to find out that the ME does not cater- at all- to tactics that aren't focused on all out attack. Not very realistic for a game that claims to be a simulation.

[lied90]

7 hours ago, Houdini777 said:

Got myself all excited to get started with a "conquer Europe with route one" save only to find out that the ME does not cater- at all- to tactics that aren't focused on all out attack. Not very realistic for a game that claims to be a simulation.

Conquering Europe with a route one tactic would be much more unrealistic than the balance of the current ME.

[caco4003]

hace 10 horas, lied90 dijo:

Conquering Europe with a route one tactic would be much more unrealistic than the balance of the current ME.

nah, that was what Mou did with his inter back in 2010

[Houdini777]

19 hours ago, lied90 said:

Conquering Europe with a route one tactic would be much more unrealistic than the balance of the current ME.

Did you not quit your Burnley save because the game would not let you play route one? The ME is not good for defence first football. The 'realism' aspect of the argument goes out the window when you yourself quit a save because it didn't work for you, either.

[Cloud9]

1 minute ago, Houdini777 said:

The ME is not good for defence first football. 

This is an FM myth for anyone else reading this. It just requires more ability from the manager.

[Houdini777]

Just now, Cloud9 said:

This is an FM myth for anyone else reading this. It just requires more ability from the manager.

I hope this was a joke. There's no need to call someone bad at the game because the ME is flawed.

[Cloud9]

24 minutes ago, Houdini777 said:

I hope this was a joke. There's no need to call someone bad at the game because the ME is flawed.

I'm not, it's not as straight forward as a high press gegenpress and more things can go wrong. But, if you can't pull off a defensive approach the problem is on your end not the match engine.

Here's a link to several useful threads that can teach you how to approach the game in this manner and avoid some of these pitfalls:

[crusadertsar]

38 minutes ago, Houdini777 said:

I hope this was a joke. There's no need to call someone bad at the game because the ME is flawed.

And what makes you say that defence first football is not possible with current ME? How many test saves have you run? What kind of defensive tactics?

Making baiting general statements with no factual proof is generally considered to be bad form on these forums. And people who make such statements are taken even less seriously. So who is the real "joker" in this case?

Edited March 8 by crusadertsar

[lied90]

8 hours ago, Houdini777 said:

Did you not quit your Burnley save because the game would not let you play route one? The ME is not good for defence first football. The 'realism' aspect of the argument goes out the window when you yourself quit a save because it didn't work for you, either.

I quit because it didn't look like the route one footbll i wanted, I didn't have any issue with the results. I got the sense that he was dissatisfied with the results, not the style on the pitch.

[ceefax the cat]

On 07/03/2024 at 00:55, lied90 said:

Conquering Europe with a route one tactic would be much more unrealistic than the balance of the current ME.

That's not really the point. The point is that you should at least be able to try and play that way, at any level. In FM the style just doesn't really exist

And tbh, if some incredibly rich club did assemble the world's biggest, strongest tallest strikers, the world's most deadly out-and-out wingers etc etc, and tried to play route 1 at the highest level possible, who knows how far they'd get? Roger Schmidt and Gian Piero Ventura have played a style based around long forward passes to a congested area of the pitch at a very high level with some success...

Edited March 9 by ceefax the cat

[Houdini777]

7 hours ago, ceefax the cat said:

That's not really the point. The point is that you should at least be able to try and play that way, at any level. In FM the style just doesn't really exist

And tbh, if some incredibly rich club did assemble the world's biggest, strongest tallest strikers, the world's most deadly out-and-out wingers etc etc, and tried to play route 1 at the highest level possible, who knows how far they'd get? Roger Schmidt and Gian Piero Ventura have played a style based around long forward passes to a congested area of the pitch at a very high level with some success...

Thanks for understanding what I wanted to say. I wasn't saying that I wanted to see immediate success with the style or anything like that, I was just frustrated that the style seems very hard to pull off in the game.

[Rashidi]

I respect anyone who is trying to play some form of route one football. I do think that one needs to consider their players and how their strengths can be leveraged into the style of play. Sometimes you may end up playing games where the opposition is also sitting back and not electing to come out and play. Route one into their packed defence may not work. Sides in real life will try and keep the ball on the ground and try and carve them up.  Though with really strong fast players you could try it for an extended period, however I still think against stacked defences you would need to keep the ball on the ground at some point.

For the last few weeks I have only been playing low block systems on my streams. In my long term save with Gloucester while I would love to sit back in a low block, the team is just so bad that doing so invites better sides to come attack us and we will eventually break. So I had to come up with different styles of play. One is a low block like this. The IF changes to an W if we are facing a team playing an IWB/IFB, WB/FB, and goes to IF if they are a 3 man defence. I will sit back like this and use pass into pass against better sides. 

 

When teams get tired I switch to my route one style which is very different. Sometimes I start games like this and then switch to a low block 523.

With my lower league team we have really bad attributes so I spend a great deal of time evaluating the gaps in the oppositions system before making role/duty or TI changes.  Sticking a tactic in and simply waiting for it to work with a weaker side doesnt' really work. The AI is simply not sophisticated enough to recognise me playing route one football. Can I win titles playing route one football, probably not, but I am more likely to do it with my low block 523 which has two plans. One I keep the ball and two, I go route one when I have to. With my weaker teams I force the issue with a 424 and then switch into my low block 523. 

Route one on its own is incredibly hard to pull off, and I doubt you could do it for 90 mins. I just choose to go route one when teams tire out after trying to break down my low block. Thats when my route one destroys their backlines. A style I call Rope'a dope

[lied90]

33 minutes ago, Rashidi said:

I respect anyone who is trying to play some form of route one football. I do think that one needs to consider their players and how their strengths can be leveraged into the style of play. Sometimes you may end up playing games where the opposition is also sitting back and not electing to come out and play. Route one into their packed defence may not work. Sides in real life will try and keep the ball on the ground and try and carve them up.  Though with really strong fast players you could try it for an extended period, however I still think against stacked defences you would need to keep the ball on the ground at some point.

For the last few weeks I have only been playing low block systems on my streams. In my long term save with Gloucester while I would love to sit back in a low block, the team is just so bad that doing so invites better sides to come attack us and we will eventually break. So I had to come up with different styles of play. One is a low block like this. The IF changes to an W if we are facing a team playing an IWB/IFB, WB/FB, and goes to IF if they are a 3 man defence. I will sit back like this and use pass into pass against better sides. 

 

When teams get tired I switch to my route one style which is very different. Sometimes I start games like this and then switch to a low block 523.

With my lower league team we have really bad attributes so I spend a great deal of time evaluating the gaps in the oppositions system before making role/duty or TI changes.  Sticking a tactic in and simply waiting for it to work with a weaker side doesnt' really work. The AI is simply not sophisticated enough to recognise me playing route one football. Can I win titles playing route one football, probably not, but I am more likely to do it with my low block 523 which has two plans. One I keep the ball and two, I go route one when I have to. With my weaker teams I force the issue with a 424 and then switch into my low block 523. 

Route one on its own is incredibly hard to pull off, and I doubt you could do it for 90 mins. I just choose to go route one when teams tire out after trying to break down my low block. Thats when my route one destroys their backlines. A style I call Rope'a dope

I think in terms of results, route one works just fine. At a top level, the style has been mostly used by teams who just want to survive or get mid table. In a very good season they might just qualify for europa, like Burnley under Dyche by finishing 7th(?) and Stoke under Pulis who got to europe by being runner up in the FA cup.

This also works in FM, Bournemouth S1:

The big problem for me is how the style plays out during build up. I can't get anyone except the GK to consistently launch long balls for the TF to flick on or chest down. This is such an integral part of route one tactics, as we are supposed to just bypass the midfield and get it forward asap.

It makes me feel like I'm not actually playing route one.

[Englishhammer]

Good thread. Started one today based on it after pondering. Early days though. Don’t get too many fouls like I thought I would.
I set more crossing on PI’s and brought Poulsen in for his aerial abilities. 80 min upwards I’ll drop Counter and add time wasting, slow pace down and be more disciplined. 
 

Goals come from bother strikers and both wingers. Nothing else yet to report. I agree a lot with the last post, it’s not pure Route One. But I see enough of what I want to carry on. 
 

Edited March 10 by Englishhammer
New picture

[Mutumba]

11 minutes ago, Englishhammer said:

Good thread. Started one today based on it after pondering. Early days though. 
 

Why not share the entire tactic pal?

[Englishhammer]

2 minutes ago, Mutumba said:

Why not share the entire tactic pal?

Done. Uploaded the wrong pic last time

[Hootieleece]

I am playing an "Out of the Box" Route One 4-4-2 in Vanarama South with St. Albans. The team is on the small side and not pacy, but we are getting results with this tactic so far.

 

This is the tactic and it works it isn't perfect Dyche or Pulis ball but not bad.

[lied90]

8 hours ago, Hootieleece said:

The team is on the small side and not pacy,

What a great foundation for route one

[Hootieleece]

2 hours ago, lied90 said:

What a great foundation for route one

Well I show you why I said so: This is the St. Albans team starting out in the VNS on 7/3/2023 in England after 10 games and with NO transfers.

This is the tactic again.

I will use the comparison graphs from my Analyst in the VNS.

The General Comparison chart shows we are the biggest and fastest team:

The All positions chart shows were the SMARTEST team in the league.

The Physical traits comparison shows we aren't the paciest but about average.

The Mental attributes show us as the smartest and decent defensive positioning, but not much else.

Technically we are terrible so Route One suits us for the most part.

Conclusion: Route One can work even for a physically and technically inept team if they make good decisions and are defensively sound. It would be better if we were physical specimens, but we are currently 5th in the league playing just a Route One 4-4-2.

 

[Jack722]

I am on the side that route one football is at least slightly broken. I remember doing a burnley save back when they were under Sean Dyche and a tailor-made 442 hoofball team. 

One save I used the out-the-box 442 route one , and the other save I used an out-the-box 433 vertical tikitaka, and kept my involvement as little as possible by leaving most day-to-day management to the assisstant manager...

Guess which was better?

Well the hoofball got me sacked half a season in and the vertical tikitaka finished mid table... Whatever you say, something is wildly wrong there. Either the match engine or the tactics creator needs to get sorted asap to make hoofball at least a somewhat viable tactic. - also a lot of peole are defending the ME by saying that hoof ball is just really complicated, or you need exactly the right players. But there is no reason why a simple 442 hoofball and mid / low block should be harder to create than a 433 gegenpress. In my opinion, playing out the back and high pressing is much more demanding in terms of attributes and coaching than any route one tactic - but those seem to be easy in the ME.

I'll redo the experiment if anyone is interested as i understand that at the moment this is just anecdotal.

Edited March 18 by Jack722

[Jack722]

On 10/03/2024 at 21:04, Englishhammer said:

Good thread. Started one today based on it after pondering. Early days though. Don’t get too many fouls like I thought I would.
I set more crossing on PI’s and brought Poulsen in for his aerial abilities. 80 min upwards I’ll drop Counter and add time wasting, slow pace down and be more disciplined. 
 

Goals come from bother strikers and both wingers. Nothing else yet to report. I agree a lot with the last post, it’s not pure Route One. But I see enough of what I want to carry on. 
 

This is just not route one though? The whole basis of route one is to play long ball - that is what this thread is about. You're not even using slightly more direct let alone extremely direct. Youre also playing a higher line and much more often pressing triggers. I would argue this is closer to a gegenpress than a standard routeone tactic.