Blakey VII

I looked at your post about your liverpool game and it really helped. Ive also seen the posts about man marking your opponents playmaker to stifle there creativity I dont know if its on here or another FM site I cant remember to be honest. Is there a guide or write up anywhere about reading scout reports and oppostiton analysis to look at the strengths and weakenesses of your opponent. I understand a lot of it already just always good to read up more and see what other managers do.

ID 1542

I started using your new tweak from the QPR game onwards which I wasnt expected to win so I played a weakened team. My Cheltenham team got promoted from League 2 in the first season by finishing 3rd where I was expected to finish 16th I believe. I am now predicted to finish 21st in League 1 which basically means relegation. Most my players are only good enough for League 2 really apart from the loans, Dan Happe & Doyle-Hayes who are on a wage which I cant really afford so one of them will probably be gone in January. I will keep going with this tweak as it plays great football and I can see why your inside forwards score all the goals ive found its usually a backpost header or tap in although my striker has scored in the last few games too. Keep up the great work mate!

I know mate defoe got injured for 2 months too so was using anichebe upfront and drew/lost a couple I reckon I would have won if I had him. The only thing I changed on free kicks & corners was moving a player set to go forward to stay back. I didn't get countered once after that and the corners & free kicks still created a lot of chances.

Just finished a whole season with Sunderland using your asymetric 4-1-2-2-1 and have to say it was very good. Scored a lot of different goals although the main assist route was from left back (van Aanholt - highest average rating in league!). The set peices are also good would suggest having 3 or more players back tho rather than the 2 as you can get countered pretty easily. I managed to finish 4th with a below average team and reach the F.A Cup final unfortunately losing to a strong spurs team. Here is a few screenshots I have:

After reading through this thread I have tried using your guidelines to create a slow possession tactic in a 4-1-2-2-1 formation & also attempted to create a quick counter attacking tactic using a 4-1-4-1 formation. I would say im more confident in the possession tactic I have created but would like to get your feedback on both tactic's and see if you can see any faults. 4-1-2-2-1 Control/Fluid Shorter Passing, Work Ball Into Box, Play Out Of Defence, Exploit The Middle, Push Higher Up, Hassle Opponents, Get Stuck In, Use Offside Trap, Lower Tempo. ----------------GK(D)---------------- WB(S)----CD(D)------CD(D)----WB(A) -----------------A(D)---------------- ----------BBM(S)------BWM(S)------- IF(A)---------------------------IF(S) -----------------AF(A)--------------- My goalkeeper has been instructed to distribute to defenders & my inside forward on the support duty has been instructed to sit narrower hoping my wing back on attack duty will overlap him and create width. My main worry is my central midfielders the BBM & BWM aren't creative enough or adventurous enough off the ball to support my lone striker. 4-1-4-1 Counter/Fluid More Direct Passing, Pass Into Space, Hit Early Crosses, Exploit The Flanks, Play Narrower, Drop Deeper, Stand Off Opponents, Stay On Feet, Higher Tempo, Be More Disciplined. ---------------GK(D)---------------- FB(S)----CD(D)------CD(D)----FB(A) ----------------A(D)----------------- W(A)----BBM(S)-----BWM(S)--W(S) -------------------------------------- ----------------AF(A)----------------- The only player instruction I have for this tactic is for my GK to take quick throws. Like I mentioned before I am not totally confident in the way this tactic is set up to counter attack. The three reasons I feel this tactic may not work is firstly my striker looks isolated and with my team instructions set to drop deeper and more direct passing I feel he may get the ball quickly but have to rely on his own individual skills to create something. Secondly my wide players are set to wingers purely because when I do break I want my counter attacks mainly to go down the wings but feel they may be a too offensive and leave massive gaps. Thirdly like the previous tactic I don't know if my two central midfielders are creative enough to get forward and support. Just to let you know I am managing Norwich 1st season so my main central midfielders best roles are BWM's & BBM's so im looking to exploit that especially Fer. Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

After reading through the sticky threads I feel I understand the tactics a lot better already especially after the massive change from sliders to shouts in this years FM. I have created a tactic below and im just wondering what you guys think of it. 1st Tactic: Mentality: Control Fluidity: Rigid TI: Work Ball Into Box, Push Higher Up, Hassle Opponents, Be More Expressive ------------------------------------GK---------------------------------------- FB(S)------------------CD(D)----------------CD(D)------------------WB(A) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ----------------------BWM(S)---------------DLP(D)------------------------- W(A)------------------------------AP(S)--------------------------------IF(S) -----------------------------------AF(A)-------------------------------------- The only player instruction at the moment is on the goalkeeper who is instructed to distribute to defenders. I am trying to create a short passing team who can cut open defences with their passing and movement so any help or tips would be appreciated. (Also tried uploading a screenshot of the tactic but the upload program has an "!" next to my screenshot that said "undefined" so any help on how to fix that would be great also)