Luizinho

I believe there's a rule in Brazil that prohibits players leaving until they're 18.

I lost 0-5 to Bayern Munich in pre-season once and I wasn't playing a particularly aggressive system. Bit worrying to hear that the AI don't 'care about winning'. Needless to say the season went well and ended up winning the league. So no I just think Preseason games are useful to get players fit, build moral and tactical familiarity and as Hunt3r says, spot any weaknesses on the pitch.

Is a ‘wall pass’ the same as a ‘one, two pass’?

It’s like I’m watching a video of myself. I could feel the pain/anger/sorrow!

This would be a good starting point. Not only the post but the discussion aswell.

@Ö-zil to the Arsenal! Those results are insane! I had a question about the DLP in your system. It's great that he has all of the options ahead of him and against PSG that was very evident. However this was against a 4-4-2 when you have an extra man in midfield. What happens when the opposition have an AMC or are tight-marking your DLP out of the game? Do you change things if he's being shut down?

Is the Underlap directly related to the run of the fullback? (ie. Can it encourage a Mezzela or other midfielder to underlap a Winger?)

Yes I understand that, but are we able to see the level? I was pretty sure that 'Take More Risks' just encouraged them to play more through balls and didn't alter the players creative freedom?

How do we know how much creative freedom a player is given?

Thanks for the detailed post above, interesting to hear your thoughts. I'll definitely look at apply a lot of whats been said in this thread. I actually line-up in a very simplistic set-up, as below: IF (A) - PF (S) - IW (S) Mez (S) - B2B (S) DMC (S) FB (S) - CD (D) - CD (D) - WB (S) *Focus play down the right, Shorter Passing, Play out of defence The idea is dominate/overload the central and right areas of the pitch, with Messi in the IW (S) role in an attempt to get him into the thick of the action as much as possible. He's given additional PIs to make him more aggressive/ambitious with his play. Space is created on the left side with the Mez and IF (A) able to exploit.

Apologies if I haven't fully understood your last sentence, but you're recommending to play the AP (S) on the same side as the IW (S) (Greizmann)? I play something vaguely similar with Barca but have struggled to get my head round who to play adjacent to my IW (S) (who is Messi for me).

Yes of course, anything can work. It's not a traditional set-up for a flat three midfield, but in the right system any kind of combination can work to an extent. If you played a narrow 4-1-3-2 for example, with a DLP in the DMC slot and an attacking fullback on the same side as the Carrilero...

Both can work - it all depends on what you're looking to achieve. I use a Mezzala (S) next to an Inside Forward (A) and it works great, but I'm trying to specifically replicate something akin to the Barcelona 2011 team. The IF (A) push high and creates room for the Mezzala to find space to work in. A Mezzala next to a Winger can work equally well. With a Winger (S) remaining wide, they're able to pull the opposing Fullback out with him and therefore making the half-space bigger for a Mezzala to exploit. Again both can work

A Mezzala is an offensive, technical role that will look to move forwards into the channels (half-spaces) in the offensive phase. Can be good to create width and overloads. Can be particularly useful in narrower formations. (Think Di Maria at Benfica) A Carrilero is a more conservative role that looks to drift laterally in the offensive phase - (imagine how a crab moves). Can be useful when covering for an aggressive winger/fullback combo and providing a wider passing outlet for the team. (Think Ramires at Chelsea) This thread is best source from the GOAT himself:

Here's the best one: Depending on what style you want to play, you might want consider all the variations of the 4-2-3-1, including the 4-4-1-1 - which is really well balanced. Edit: Just seen that Cleon uses a Deep-Lying Forward in his 4-2-3-1, but the shape is perfectly suited for any striker role