Eric Ten Hag 4-2-3-1 Ajax 2021-2022 fm24

[Maxim26]

Hello to all fans of fm!

I am a fan of the football that Ajax showed under the leadership of Eric Ten Hag, I think like many.

On the passion 4 fm resource, I came across a reproduction of this tactic in fm 22. How do you think it can be improved based on the capabilities of fm 24?

https://www.passion4fm.com/football-manager-2022-erik-ten-hags-ajax-tactics/2#fm22-ajax-4-2-3-1-tactic

[GCVS00]

So I've tried to replicate this an I've done a lot of research. So for starters, I think that the goalkeeper and centerbacks would be exactly what they are in the picture. The fullbacks are where things get interesting to me. Blind would frequently form a back three with the CBs, but would also occasionally look to get forward and provide an overlap for Tadic. I think that IFB-D is a good choice for the Blind role, as they will sometimes get further forward in the match engine. For Mazraoui, he would frequently look to underlap in the final third, and he would also invert into the midfield to form a 3-4-3 Diamond in possession. I think that either an IWB-A or a FB-A with sit narrower and underlap would work, but I personally prefer the IWB-A because he'll make more movements like Mazraoui did in real life.

For the midfield pivot, I would move at least Alvarez to the DM strata. For Alvarez, I would opt for either a DM-D or an Anchor, a solid DM who looks to win the ball back and pass it to more creative options. The Gravenberch role is one that I've really struggled with. In real life, he would often go wide, looking to help with the build-up on the left, while also getting further forward to help support the attack. Additionally, his positioning allowed for the creation of a 3-4-3 Diamond Shape in possession (see below):

So the problem here is getting the the 3-4-3 Diamond shape to eventually transition into a 3-2-5 in attack. Personally, I shied away from using the Gravenberch role as a RPM or as a SV because those trigger a rotation with the AM-S, who I wanted to remain more central in build-up. I think that having a bit of an asymmetrical formation could work here, playing Gravenberch as a CM-S, with instructions to dribble more, tackle harder, close down more, and stay wider. This way, he won't be stuck in the DM strata but he also won't trigger a rotation too early. You'll occasionally get him move further forward into attack, whereas Mazraoui will also attack, allowing you to achieve a 3-2-5 in attack from different positions.

For the attack, I think I'd keep Haller as a TF-A, with DLF-A as another solid option. Also, for the Berghuis role, keeping him as an AM-S is also fine. For Antony, I would put him as a W-S, with instructions to cut inside with the ball. This way, he will stay wider in the build-up, which will open up space for Mazraoui to underlap, while also allowing him to cut inside onto his left with the ball. For Tadic, I would personally put him as a W-S or W-A with instructions to cut inside as well. I don't love this, as the winger role has cross from byline hard coded, but even with stay wider, the IW role doesn't stay as wide in the initial build-up. If you are ok with this compromise, you can use this role instead.

Finally, the team instructions. I would keep the mentality as positive. For the in possession instructions, I would select pass shorter, normal tempo, play out of defense, wide width, work ball into box. I wouldn't pass much shorter, as this side frequently used long switches to take advantage of their width. Additionally, it's much easier to keep the ball in this match engine, so I think pass shorter is fine. The rest of the instructions are normal for a possession based side. Of course, if you really want to take advantage of Haller's height, you could use floated crosses, but I kept this instruction at mixed because Ajax also frequently utilized cut backs and low crosses. For in transition, I would select counter press, distribute to CBs AND FBs, and slow pace down. You can select counter if you want, but I feel like keeping this section unselected doesn't tire out my team as much and allows them to make decisions about when to counterattack. If it isn't on, they'll recycle possession instead of countering hopelessly and losing the ball. Finally, for out of possession, I would select high press, much higher line, step up more, much more intense pressing, and prevent short gk distribution. Ten Hag's ajax were known for pressing extremely hard, so I feel like these instructions match that intensity.

 

Let me know how this works. I'll try to replicate this later today to see how it does!

Edited November 9, 2023 by GCVS00

[GCVS00]

By the way, this tactic has been absolutely incredible in my Lens save

[Collectivism]

1 hour ago, GCVS00 said:

By the way, this tactic has been absolutely incredible in my Lens save

On FM24? Did you just download and copy across?

[GCVS00]

Yes on FM24, and no, I created my own version of the tactic. I can post later if people would like to see it!

[TheMartello]

5 minutes ago, GCVS00 said:

Yes on FM24, and no, I created my own version of the tactic. I can post later if people would like to see it!

Yes please, with TI´s and PI´s please 

[GCVS00]

1 hour ago, TheMartello said:

Yes please, with TI´s and PI´s please 

Will do when I get home!

[GCVS00]

This is the tactic:

 

These are the PIs:

[TheMartello]

12 minutes ago, GCVS00 said:

This is the tactic:

 

These are the PIs:

 

You have screens of your results too?

 

I´m trying it out tomorrow!

[GCVS00]

I've been doing a mostly YA save with Lens. This was my first full season using the tactic!

[fp01]

On 10/11/2023 at 22:16, GCVS00 said:

This is the tactic:

 

These are the PIs:

Do you know which attributes I should be looking at for each position?