Ö-zil to the Arsenal!

December 3, 2021

3 minutes ago, Tommo_ said:

What does this mean in terms of TI/PI's, Ozil? No PI settings for pressing, only TIs?

For me, it's actually mostly making sure that individual mentalities (in the Player Instructions screen) give us vertical compactness.

Holding midfielder should have the same individual mentality as Central Defenders to create a defensive unit.
- I don't mind if it's Cautious, Balanced, Positive depending on the system, but I wouldn't want a gap between them.
Players on the same flank should have the same individual mentality to ensure they attack and defend together.
- Mostly I want these to be Positive or Attacking.
- My biggest dislike is a Fullback on Defensive/Cautious and an attacker on Positive/Attacking (or even Very Attacking); in this case, the defender will defend alone and the attacker will attack alone. Well out-of-date football.
Attackers should Positive or Attacking; most importantly attacking and pressing together as a unit.
- It's very difficult to balance an individual on Very Attacking individual mentality; he's either trying to attack alone or you increase a couple of players with him and ask everyone else to 'cover' for them rather than attacking as a unit.

To re-iterate, I am talking about individual mentality NOT player duty.

The main takeaway is that a Positive or Attacking team mentality with Support duties allows you to press as a team and attack with 5 or 6 or even 7 players. Attacking duties means you attack with a handful of individuals and the rest have to compensate for them. The recent Man City vs PSG match played this out in real life recently.

December 3, 2021

2 hours ago, AndersAas said:

Would you say that the TIs you have is the "core" instructions for the FM22 version of the highly structured possession style?

If I remember correctly you used control on the Benfica save? Is much shorter passing a way to gain "retain possession" and adjusting for the attacking mentality? I guess the attacking mentality and no tempo adjustment makes for a more direct and penetrating football than control and lower tempo?

How have you set-up the 4-3-3 with this Arsenal team? Have you tried to make the 4-3-3s (IFs and WBs and Wingers and IWBs) on FM22?

Good question I would say it's a variant of possession football rather than "the core", as there's lots of different ways to do it.

The core - for me - is collectivism; lots well-rounded, hard working and players with a team ethic capable of contributing to both attack and defence combined with tactics which:

Re-enforce that collectivism; lots of Support duties with either Positive/Attacking team mentality.
Organised pressing, collectively as a team.
- Doesn't necessarily need to be high pressing, but it does need to be organised and press together, as a team.
- We play high pressing; longer-term we could potentially max that out.
Structure that facilitates clean build-up play through either a 3-2, 2-3 or 3-1 shape from the back.
Clear attacking shape most commonly either 2-3-5 or 3-2-5 in the attacking phase.

Within possession itself, we play a short-passing system but there are plenty of possession sides playing more directly, and anything in between. I'd like to play higher tempo in the long-run but I don't think we're ready yet.

Since the removal of Team Shape, Football Manager sadly no longer distinguishes between structured and fluid styles of play. If we still had that functionality, I'd be playing Structured but I am trying to move on from that as we no longer have that functionality. I did try using More Disciplined but it's seemed a bit redundant so far; more experimentation required. My approach of using an expansive team mentality with Support duties means the Tactics Creator is always going to call my systems "Very Fluid", but - as we all know - that's nothing more than a label these days.

December 3, 2021

26 minutes ago, Rashidi said:

There have been plenty of changes to attacking roles in the last two versions of football manager. In this version quite a few roles have higher underlying mentalities. The behaviour of roles isn't driven by mentality alone, its also driven by the nature of the role, the instructions in that role, the team instructions you use, the traits of the player. A lot more is going into the behavior of individual roles instead of just mentality. These have always been by design.

If there is an intended logic, I'm failing to see it.

With a Positive team mentality the Inverted Winger (Support), Attacking Midfielder (Support) and Deep-Lying Forward (Support) have higher individual mentality than the Inside Forward (Support) which would seem like the most attacking role.
The mentality for the Deep-Lying Forward (Support) actually decreases from Very Attacking to Attacking when you increase the team mentality to Attacking.
There also seems to be a massive individual mentality drop-off as players play in deeper stratas; doesn't make much sense - to me - in the context of modern football, where teams play so collectively.

Fortunately, it only seems to be an aesthetic issue in the Tactics Creator and not in the Match Engine.

December 2, 2021

3 hours ago, ianscousemac said:

This is still an issue for me. Is anyone else still experiencing this?

Still the same for me..

December 2, 2021

1 hour ago, Br3nB said:

Absolutely love your way of explaining decisions and how you go about things, one of the top top top contributors of this forums history!

Thank you so much. Kind feedback like this makes it all worthwhile :thup:

3 hours ago, Tommo_ said:

How is Patino doing, Ozil? Is this a long term save for you?

He's coming through well; actually just got his first Premier League goal.

He's also completed 100+ passes per 90 over his first 5 Premier League starts plus cup matches.

He's up there with Saka and Smith-Rowe as being having the highest potential at the club I'd say. Very versatile too; can play as a 6, an 8 or a 10. My plan is to get him around 10 league starts in the first season, plus cup matches and the rest of the time available for the U-23s then see where we stand.

3 hours ago, JoOSTAR said:

Care to share the rest of the player instructions you use @Ö-zil to the Arsenal! ? Can't get a 4-2-3-1 to work myself...

Looks like a fun save!

There's nothing too complicated.

Off the top of my head:

DR is doing anything possible to make him sit deep and tuck in to create a back 3.
DCL "stays wide" so we shift across to make a 3.
I ask the AML to sit narrower and he ignores me
AMR stays wide
AMC moves into channels
ST roams from position

December 2, 2021

2 hours ago, AndersAas said:

I thought it looked familiar I`m doing a save with the same approach you did in your 2nd attempt with Benfica, and will try to make a 4-3-3 with IF/IWs and wing-backs based on this playing style. Have you tried to make the 4-3-3s from the Benfica save in FM22?

I've occasionally used a 4-3-3 and I think that tactically it is a better system - particularly with odd wide player positioning in the current Match Engine - but the double pivot suits our players better. Partey and Xhaka are a very well balanced double pivot; one of the best in the league. The double pivot also gives a bit more support to Patino and Lokonga coming through than the 4-3-3.

1 hour ago, Clifton said:

@O-zil to the Arsenal!

Interested in you selling Laca and Auba. Did you replace them, or are you planning a save bringing youth on? Would be great if you did another thread like the Benfica one.

No, I've split the game time between Martinelli, Balogun and Nketiah (extended contract).

I decided to take advantage of not playing in Europe and use the first season to invest in the future. I've played with a very small squad and given professional debuts and game time to Patino, Rekik, Hutchinson, Norton-Cuffy and Cottrell. Manchester City and Liverpool are comfortably ahead but we are well on-track for Top 4 and the squad is in a very good place for next season already.

1 hour ago, _mxrky said:

Do you have any pi on tomiyasu? I’ve been using fb-d but wondering if fb-s is a better replication

Sit narrower, hold position and cut inside with the ball. The reason I go with FB(S) over FB(D) is that FB(S) is nice and compact with Saka as IW(S) in defence as they're both a Positive mentality. FB(D) would create a gap between them.

December 2, 2021

2 hours ago, AndersAas said:

Is this the system you have landed on@Ö-zil to the Arsenal!? Would you say this a FM22 version/attempt on your Benfica approach tactically?

It's similar, but the structure is different.

The playing style is similar to the disciplined possession-oriented style I used early in that save, however the structure is based up how Arteta set up in the Tottenham match; the 4-2-3-1 becoming a 3-2-5 or 2-3-5 in attacking phases.

December 1, 2021

4 minutes ago, Tommo_ said:

Thanks for sharing, Özil.

So ESR sticking out wide to the left this much isn't something I'm doing wrong necessarily?

Yes, that's exactly the issue I am having. I think it's a Match Engine issue rather than anything tactical. It seems to be that they do eventually move inside, but it's waaay too late.

Fortunately it seems to effect the AI similarly as I noticed even Mane and Salah doing the same when we played Liverpool. Interestingly it doesn't seem to have much effect on results or even goals. Salah and Mane are right up there with Lukaku, Kane and Ronaldo for top scorer in my save and Smith-Rowe and Saka are both looking like they might have 20 goal seasons.

December 1, 2021

1 hour ago, Tommo_ said:

@Ö-zil to the Arsenal! can confirm but looking at the goals I expect it's similar to this. Maybe Ødegaard is on support duty with Saka on Attack duty but similar non the less. This is what I used on the BETA with Arsenal.

Wow, very close; I'm impressed.

Overall, I'm very happy with it. We're good in every phase. We're actually top scorers, best defence and highest possession in the league. A few too many draws away from home mean Man City & Liverpool are ahead of us but we're comfortably getting back into the Champions League.

Particularly happy given I sold Lacazette and Aubameyang. I've really focused on bringing through Martinelli but Balogun and Nketiah have both also had a lot of game time.

My goal is to play a 4-2-3-1 which defends as a 4-4-1-1 and attacks as a 3-2-5

Tomiyasu sits deep and tucks in, forming a three with Gabriel and White. Gabriel stays wider to balance.
Xhaka and Partey both hold midfield as a simple midfield double pivot.
Tierney overlaps to create a five in attack with Smith-Rowe

I'm still not quite happy with the positioning on the Tomiyasu and Smith-Rowe. Both are staying too wide in possession which I understand may be a common complaint with the FM 2022 Match Engine.

November 30, 2021

I must say, I am loving this Arsenal squad. Saka and Smith Rowe are electric

November 20, 2021

20 minutes ago, HurkaDurk69 said:

Don't know during the game, but if you go to an old game it is under 'Analytical Data' > Team > Passes > Combinations: All

Brilliant. Would never have found that. Thank you! :thup:

November 20, 2021

Heyyy, mate! I have a couple of questions, as I'm trying to get some value out of the Data Hub:

Where do I find the Pass Map during the game? Is it only in the Data Hub and in that case only available for the last game? Is there a way to find Pass Maps for earlier games? Don't see it in the Match Stats section at all.
Are you doing anything smart to monitor how effectively your team are pressing? I am finding some useful comparative data on how my team is with the ball and how efficient we are at creating chances, but nothing really to tell me if we're pressing effectively or not.

Cheers! :thup:

November 18, 2021

3 hours ago, Skywalk3r83 said:

Nice! Which FM is this?😊

2018 :thup:

November 17, 2021

10 hours ago, ElJefe4 said:

How are people managing to work around this issue?

I don't have FM21 so can't load my tactics in the tactic creator on that version to see the mentalities without this issue.

I'm trying to create a Sacchi inspired high pressing 442 but really struggling to select the correct rules/duties due to this.

Try downloading the FM2021 demo? I have the demo but not the actual game.

Haha it's utterly ridiculous :lol:

November 17, 2021

11 hours ago, Garrlor said:

I think its safe to say that you may have just cracked the match engine there mate. That football is just outrageous, if Pep ever saw it I think he would explode! The dedication to squad building you have is just stunning, like you said you are reaping the seeds of what you have sown - which is the best club side in a generation. A quick question on scouting if I may? Do you have any particualar tricks that you use? Or do you just set scouts to look for young players in countries and then cherry pick the best and brightest?

Haha yes, I agree. The match engine really cannot deal with a team attacking and defending as a complete unit. Actually, I think modern football evolved quite considerably between around 2019 and now, so applying these principles in 2018 does crack the match engine somewhat. Particularly when you combine it with a conveyor belt of talent coming through the best academy in the world.

My most successful approach to scouting as been to specialise my scouting on areas the club has an advantage:

Domestically, we pretty much follow the Bayern-model; hoovering up all domestic talent from within Portugal.
- Most academy players are actually signed at 16-17 from other Portuguese clubs.
- I use filters to scout all U16s on intake day. They won't usually sign immediately but I shortlist the good ones and sign them when they become available.
- I prioritise work rate, team work and potential ability. The rest can be developed through training and tutoring.
- Volume - it's a numbers game. Don't over-think it; searching for the perfect 16 year old wonderkid. If there's a spot available in your U19s, fill it. It costs almost nothing to sign a 16/17 year old, tutor them and give them 1-2 years in the academy and see what they look like. Overall our hit rate can only be about 10% but that's enough to build a great team and you can at least make some profit on those who make progress but not quite enough.
Immigration laws give us an advantage signing players from outside of Europe as they turn 18.
- We have feeder clubs and scouts all over South America and - more recently - Africa.
- Not quite so productive as a) they come with a transfer fee and b) they cannot sign until 18 meaning they get 1-2 years less in the academy (unless they come directly through the feeder club, but you cannot control that).
- Common pathway is sign and enter Benfica B for a year, loan out for a year, sell for a profit. Exceptional players reach the first team.

Overall my main sources of players have been:

Signed young, from domestic clubs and put through the academy (Fernandes, Valentim, Costa, Soares, Barbosa)
Own academy products (Alves, Lisboa, Nkosi, Xavier, Teixeira, Serrano)
Feeder club players coming through our academy (Leao, Cesar, Mpakumpaku, Shabala, Sow, Carlos)
Signing players from outside of Europe at 18 (Mahao, Elvis, Helix, Leandro Perreira)

November 16, 2021

15 hours ago, Pattric_b said:

What a player Leao is. Surprised no one has managed to lure him away yet. Incredible success otherwise and beautiful attacking football.

Excited to see what you do on Fm22!

Haha, yes. He's doing alright. To be honest, the other major European clubs are in a bit of turmoil at the moment. Lots of older players on big contracts. There's not massive transfer fees floating around. He's just turned 28. I think if anyone wanted to take him, I'd demand Neymar-money but I don't think that's happening. It's worked out pretty well keeping Dantas and Leao in key positions and rebuild the rest of the team around them.

11 hours ago, steakfaced said:

Uhm... cann you tell us more about the two legs versus Juventus??

Absolute collapse, to be honest. They're certainly not what they were. The highlights playing against sides in black and white are from that game.

November 15, 2021

27 minutes ago, keysi said:

Open the skin folder/panels/tactics and delete tactics icon info panel overview.xml file. It will revert the tactics screen back to default.

Thank you so much :thup:

November 15, 2021

Hey, good evening everybody!

I'm using the Kojuru skin and really like it, however the one thing annoying me is the 'faces' in the tactics screen as I don't use a facepack.

Please could someone tell me what I need to edit in order to remove these faces? Please bare in mind I really don't know what I'm doing when it comes to skins :lol:

Thank you! :thup:

November 15, 2021

3 minutes ago, crusadertsar said:

@PequenoGenioI might be wrong but exploit/focus through the middle doesn't affect individual mentality anymore. Not in FM22. Or maybe I missed something.

Ah, yes. I stand corrected. I've been building my tactics in the FM2021 Tactics Creator due to the individual mentality labelling issue with attacking players so hadn't noticed :thup:

November 15, 2021

1 hour ago, PequenoGenio said:

Hi @Ö-zil to the Arsenal!. Came acroos this the other day. Is this doable in FM22? If so what would be the guidelines for this in terms of TI, roles, dutys an so on?

Yes, more or less do-able. Check out the posts above as the Tactics Creator is more or less the same, with the exception of the labelling issues and a couple of new roles.

Main principles are:

Attacking team mentality
Lots of Support roles to attack collectively, rather than a few individuals
If you're using a DLP(D) then you'll want to Exploit the Middle to get his mentality to Balanced, as Cautious playmakers are too.. cautious
High pressing
Build from the back

The rest is pretty flexible.

November 15, 2021

2032/33 Season Update

Finally finding some time to write-up the 2032/33 update; apologies if brief, I played this a while ago but haven't had time to update.

At this point, the club what we have sowed in earlier seasons.

As a refresher, last season we enjoyed a carnival of football playing an all-out-attack 3-4-3 in celebration of - what was supposed to be - the last year at Estadio de Luz and the peaking of club legends Tiago Dantas, Leão, Tiago Valentim, Vitor Costa, Braima Alves, Goncalo Guimaraes & co.

2032/32 brings around (another) changing of the guard, as many of our experienced players head off to the Premier League for a well-earned pay day and the next generation steps up.

The changes see us go back to our favoured 4-3-3, using a Control team mentality to allow Leão to play as an attacking spearhead.

Sales make way for the most talented crop of young players I have seen at the club; led by César, Xavier, Teixeira, Nkosi and Jordão.

*This is taken at the end of the season, hence the the huge developments.

Juanma Xavier has emerged as the successor to Tiago Dantas' throne.

Alongside him, Teixeira plays a more advanced role.

At the back, César steps in alongside Kouassi.

..and Jordão joins Leão and Lisboa in attack. Mostly cutting in from wide right.

At left-back, there was still a bit of a gap in quality between Braima Alves and Carvalho, so I decided to stick with Alves for another year. Shame I sold Leandro Perreira last season as he is now probably the best in the world.

Tactically, the 4-3-3 is extremely attacking. Similar to the set-up I used in my final World Cup with Portugal.

Mentalities:

      15
12          12
   15    12
      11
12 11    11 12
      14

The selection of roles, makes the attack extremely fluid.

Essentially the two central defenders and Dantas create a 2-1 diamond, and the rest of the team is free to roam; this creates an almost undefendable 2-1-7 shape in attack.

I'm not sure there's much more to say than this; as I say, really at this point we are reaping what has been sowed in earlier seasons; with an absolutely beyond world-class team and are playing football on another level.

Here are some highlights from the Champions League knockouts.

..and that's Real Madrid off their perch! :brock:

Thank you for those still following along! :applause: I cannot promise how much longer I will continue with the updates. As some of you have noticed, I finally bit the bullet and upgraded to FM2022. Dantas has just turned 32 and I would like to see out his career from start to finish with Benfica, and also move the club into their 100,000 seater stadium (if it ever happens!). We will see!

November 12, 2021

5 hours ago, _mxrky said:

Do you mind sharing what tactic you are using with the squad?

I will do when I am settled on a system. I'm going back and fourth a bit right now between 4-2-3-1 and 4-3-3; the 4-2-3-1 gets my best players on the field but the 4-3-3 plays better football :thup:

November 11, 2021

19 minutes ago, bibird. said:

Just wondering @Ö-zil to the Arsenal!, was the interest in Auba, Leno and Laca natural or had you transfer listed them or offered them out? Did you attempt to flog Xhaka as well?

I wanted to sell Lacazette, so I'd offered him out. Was pretty disappointed with the response, but the main thing was getting him off the books and freeing up the space in the squad.

For Leno and Aubameyang, I put reasonable asking prices in their Transfer Status and waited. When Newcastle and PSG showed an interest ('wnt'), I offered them out and negotiated a deal. I did the same for Pepe and Xhaka but nobody showed an interest. Maybe I could have pushed it.

That said, I do actually rate Xhaka a lot higher than most people so am happy enough to have him around.

November 11, 2021

I think the secret for Arsenal is to get on the Newcastle United Saudi billions gravy train! :lol: I sold Lacazette to Leicester for £6.25m and even ended up paying some of his wages and then Newcastle spend £59m on Jimenez a week later; can't help but feel I missed out! Did manage to sell them Leno though.

I'm experimenting finishing up the clear-out to make room for some of the young players coming through.

Aubameyang to PSG for £32.5m
Leno to Newcastle for £21m
Chambers to Wolves for £16.25m
Cedric to Real Madrid for £14.25m
Elneny to Leeds for £8m
Lacazette to Leicester for £6.25m
Kolasinac to Wolves on loan for 30% of his wages

Renewed Nketiah's contract. Promoted Balogun, Patino, Rekik and Hillson. Would sell Pepe if I anyone would come in and promote Hutchinson to back-up Saka, but absolutely no interest so far.

Happy to go with a small squad for a year without European football.

November 11, 2021

4 hours ago, jandito said:

Here it is. In possession instructions that don't fit into screenshot: short passing, play out of defence, work ball into box.

Genuinely happy to take feedback on the tactic and how I can get it to press better. I created it myself and I'm not really an expert like some are.

Have you tried playing a formation with stronger wide coverage? Personally I would agree with @crusadertsar that there is nobody to pressure opposition fullbacks.

4 hours ago, jandito said:

With my full backs. I have my defensive line as high as it will go and have set my full backs to press high. As you can see with the initial screenshots I posted though, it's not just pressing in wide areas that's an issue.

Relying on your fullbacks to press the opposition wide players is a definite structural issue.

They have to run the full length of the field to press the opposition fullback
Even the fastest player in the world would allow ample time for the opposition to get the ball away
When he arrives he's left some very dangerous space for opposition AMR/L or AMR/L
I'd expect him to be gassed doing that pretty quickly

Narrower shapes can be very good medium or low block systems. That won't give you the pressing you want but you might see better football overall.

If you want to make that setup work in a high-press, I'd suggest that you need hard working players at AMCL/R and also MCL/R and have them cover the wide areas between them and the rest shift across.

My other observation would be that you have a positive team mentality and 4 attacking duties. That means your AMCR and ST both have Very Attacking individual mentalities and your wingbacks are both Attacking. Wingbacks probably fine, but I wouldn't like two players with Very Attacking mentalities in a system aiming to press when you need everybody working together collectively.

Hope this helps :thup:

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Posts posted by Ö-zil to the Arsenal!