Manunited_fan

Okay, so I'm three games into the season. I have drawn 1-1 with Newcastle away (they scored with a header in the first minute), 2-2 at home vs Burnley (I dominated the game), and won 2-0 away vs Brentford. I've been watching the games and making tweaks and adapted my tactics to what I've seen. We have so far been dominating the games quite well. My DLP has changed to a DM(S) with Hold Position as I found his pass % was bit good enough so wanted to take him off being a playmaker. My LB is now a WB(S). While he was creating havoc on (A), I felt him and LW were getting in each others way and the crossing from the by-line was slowing things down. The RW is getting a bit too isolated out wide so looking to get them more involved. I think the biggest issue I can see in the post-match analysis is that while our passing maps are pretty good, in all three games there's been barely any passes to the AF. Should I try to change which role the ST is set too? I'm swapping the IF out for an IW(A) and will see if that helps. In terms of squad, I've been unable to sell Aarons, but have bought replacement defenders to play the IFB role. I also sold Alvarez because I got crazy money for him and Endrick had progressed more than I thought.

Sounds great. Thanks for the advice. I'll make those adaptions and then monitor the highlights to see what we're getting. I'm excited to see what we can get out of Schjelderup. He's the main one I'm itching to get success with.

Thanks Overmars. This is really good contextual advice. 1) I've had a scan through and can see: Mitchell (5'9"), Udogie (6'2"), Mukiele (6'2") and Aarons (5'7"). I'll have a scout around to see if I can find a replacement for Aarons who's taller, but think 6'2" should be fine right? I assume we want to be getting over 6'? 2) I did think about the IFB(d) role, and it would suit Mukiele. I was thinking about the current popular 3-2-5 attack formation but think Aarons wouldn't suit that. Will see if I can find a suitable replacement, Aarons is in demand so can generate some cash too. Looks like Gomes could play SV, would I need to adapt Danilo's role? 3) I was concerned about the height of my forward line. Guess there's not much way around that, other than to buy a taller striker? 4) Yeah, I think Alvarez and Pedro could play other roles but given we don't have much attacking impetus elsewhere at the moment I think we stick with AF(a). 5) If I have an IW and an IFB on that side, would I not lose the width on the right hand side? Even if I put Stay Wide on them, I can't imagine they'd be playing that wide still? Also, if we have an IFB and we updated to a SV, would we not benefit from the RW staying right out wide to create space for the SV? 6) Yeah, I like the idea of the IF(a). How would that gel with the WB(a) on the same side? Would it matter if they're both attacking or should I tone down the WB? 7) It sounds like I might have to decide between this or the IF(a). I don't think having both and the AF(a) will be a good idea. Schjelderup looks like he's got the skills for this, and notice that Bardghji could be effective here too. Might be that we could do IW(s) and AM(a) or IF(a) and AM(s). One to play with I think to find out with option works best. 8) Good to know, thanks. Ideally, I'd love to play lots of high tempo football. That's exciting, but think we stay a bit controlled and then play with the tempo as and when we need like you say.

Hi fmjeros, thanks for the recommendation. Could you please provide the link to the article you read? It would be interesting to see the thought process behind the setup. I'm looking to learn and understand tactic development, so for now I'll stick with trying to build my own thing but can certainly take pointers from what Cleon was doing here. I appreciate that my post was quite long so probably why there's been few responses. By going through this process, it has helped me to think more about what's going on in my team. I'm still debating on the LW role. It has occurred to me that in the current set up I only have one person trying to score goals (the AF) as the winger, wing back, AM and IW are all more creative options. Therefore, I'm thinking that the LW (Joao Pedro currently) should may be an IF. I've seen people put things like Roam from position on the AM to try and create a bit more space as well. I also saw another thread that if you have two solid DMs then you can put both FBs to Wing Back to add more ball carriers, so might try that (but maybe might need to upgrade on Mukiele in that case).

Hi all, I've been playing this save on and off for a while now, and imported it in to FM24 from 23 to continue it going. I started out as Aston Villa as I liked the look of their base squad (FM23 original DB), but 4 seasons in, I've completely replaced it with my own team (I guess in true FM style...? ). I'm not the best at creating tactics or understanding players capabilities so I thought I'd talk this one through with you all to see if I'm doing things right. I try to take a lot of advice from the various 4-2-3-1 threads that get posted, but seem to end up getting muddled and constantly changing things to no end. I hope through this process, I can gain some confidence in understanding how to set up my team and to get it to play how I want. This team feels like it has a lot of potential but when I play, it is very inconsistent and just finished 10th in the league. I want to see if I can build a system that will start to make the most out of this team and push on to secure regular European football or higher. The Formation I'm a fan of the 4-2-3-1 formation, so it works in my favour seeing lots of comments about it being the "meta". Hopefully I can use that to my advantage. In terms of how I like to play, I like to have an Out-and-out number 9, a number 10 who both scores and assists, a wide player who will keep the width and the other wide player tucking in to combine with the AM and ST. I like to have at least one full back bombing on and overlapping, holding the width on the opposite side to the "winger". The two DMs then should be a ball-winner/holder (traditional 6) and someone who controls the play from deep. I want my team to control possession, but doesn't have to be Pep-like numbers, and ideally able to counter with speed when the opportunity arises. We should be looking to stretch the opposition to create chances (I think the two width holders should help with this). The Squad The squad has evolved considerably over time. Five of the young players I bought in during my first season are now key members of the squad, six more squad members came in season two and then seven came in season three. Season four was then a year of buying some "wonderkids" as I felt the squad was in a good place. Now for this season I'm moving on a few players who didn't make it, and needing to fill a few holes in the squad. The left wing position has been especially tricky to fill. Goalkeeper In goal we have three keepers: Dennis Seimen, Niklas Hedl, and Emiliano Martinez (one of the few OGs left standing). Seimen Hedl Martinez Seimen is my first choice here and seems to fit the sweeper keeper role nicely, with only his acceleration being a slight concern. Hedl's vision and anticipation could be an issue, while Martinez lacks acceleration and vision. I think they can both come in and do an effective job if they need to cover. Role: Sweeper Keeper (Su) Left Back My two left backs are Tyrick Mitchell and Destiny Udogie. I don't think either are top tier but both look (to me) to be solid options. Udogie maybe lacks the mental stats but has great physicals, while Mitchell seems more rounded. Mitchell Udogie Think the option here is Mitchell due to the more well rounded stats. I'm torn between Wing-Back (Su) or (At). I really want the left back to get up there and create that width, which I think would be (At) but as both have gets forward whenever possible, we might get the same result from (Su) but with a bit more defensive control. Center Backs This area is lacking a bit of depth at the moment but I have two solid options to build around: Antonio Silva and Benoit Badiashile. Silva Badiashile Both look like decent ball playing defenders, though should I be concerned that they both lack aggression? Depending on how the team shakes out, one or both could be set to simple central defenders. Silva looks like he would still try to play as a BPD because of his traits. I'm thinking Silva as BPD (De) and Badiashile as CD (De). Two who can stand in are Ezri Konsa (another survivor) and Nordi Mukiele. Konsa Mukiele Konsa tends to be the backup RCB while Mukiele plays more at RB. Konsa should be able to fill in as the BPD (De) for rotation. I'm looking for a second LCB to rotate with Badiashile. Right Back As well Mukiele above, at right back I also have Max Aarons. Max is certainly more of a wing back than Mukiele. I'm certainly torn here whether to go for a more solid Full-Back (Su) behind what will likely be a winger, or allow Aarons more freedom as a Wing-Back (Su). I'm leaning to FB (Su) as his crossing isn't great, and he plays short simple passes anyway. The gets forward trait should still make him move up the pitch so will need to consider that for the DMs to cover. FB will also make it easier for Mukiele to rotate in. Back Five Hopefully this five will give us a great base to build on. In terms of PIs, I may consider asking Badishile to defend wider and Aarons narrower to create a 3atb if Mitchell is bombing forward, though Aarons may run up as well so not sure this will be effective. The number 6 Now I think I have two good options for this role; Joao Gomes and Manuel Ugarte. Both are very capable of playing either as a BWM or a regular DM. Gomes Ugarte As they both have good passing stats, I think I'll start with them as Defensive Midfielder (Su). This way they can still be involved in the build up and pass the ball forward. The deep creator With this role, I'm not necessarily looking for someone who can generate a ton of assists. I see this role more as the one who keeps the play ticking and controls the tempo. At the moment I have two players in this position; Danilo and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. Danilo Dewsbury-Hall I'm going to start with Danilo as a DLP (Su) on the left. Danilo and Gomes will be my starting pair. Ugarte can come in for Gomes, Kiernan for Danilo. While this provides a solid base, I do wonder if: a) should one be more defensive, and/or b) should one be looking to break forward more? I think we've got a good balance at the moment and with the LB bombing on, and possibly the RB, we don't want to over commit. Right Wing My two options on the right are Michael Olise and Roony Bardghji. These two players, while fitting the concept of right sided forward who cuts in on to their left foot, are actually different profiles. Olise is more classic winger with pace and crossing, while Bardghji is a bit more modern inside forward looking to score. Olise Bardghji Thinking back to my original plan, I wanted the RW to hold the width so Olise probably fits that bill better. Bardghji provides a good option though if I need to change things up. I'll go for Winger (Su) for now. Attacking Midfield This is the player I want to nit our attack together. I have two players I think can play this role; Andreas Schjelderup and Jacob Ramsey (still in for Home-grown reasons). Schjelderup Ramsey Schjelderup is my starter. He's labelled as a winger cutting in from the left, but he looks to be an effective Attacking mid. Ramsey isn't as strong but can be brought in for rotation. I may look for an upgrade. Striker Upfront I have three options; Joao Pedro, Julian Alvarez and Elye Wahi. Pedro Alvarez Wahi Alvarez and Pedro are a bit more well-rounded, while Wahi looks to be purely a striker. This gives me some options and all three look to be suited to Advanced Forward (At), which suits my want for an out and out number 9. It looks like I could use any of these three upfront, and probably Alvarez and Pedro could play left wing, which I'm missing at the moment. I also have a young Endrick and Vitor Roque coming through but they're not ready to take over for these guys yet. Left Wing Currently this is a hole in my squad as I don't have a dedicated player for this position. However, considering my depth at ST, I think Joao Pedro can fill in here. I'm a bit torn on what role this should be. He's good enough that he could be a goal threat as an Inverted Winger (At), but that might be too attacking with the WB (At). Inside Forward could be an option, but might remove him from any build up and I worry if he'd clash with the AF and AM. I think we'll go IW (Su) for now. Full Team: Team Instructions As I want to on the front foot, I think we need to be on Positive. In possession Seimen, Silva and Badiashile are all capable to Play out of defence. To control possession we will pass shorter, but I'll keep width and tempo default for now. None of my strikers are especially tall so I think we need to aim to put in low crosses. In transition, I think I'll just mark counter and distribute quickly. I want to break fast in transition, though this might ruin our ability to control the game if we're rushing to turn the opposition over. I don't think we are fully capable to counter press. I'll leave distribution type and area/player blank so Seimen can make the decision on who to pass to. Out of possession we'll have a higher defensive line as our centre backs are quick enough. I also think we can press high as we have a top heavy formation, we can use our forwards to defend high. I'm going to start with trigger press More often. Conclusion Thank you for taking the time to read through all this. I hope that what I've tried to create makes sense and sounds like a viable system, with suitable players. Please do let me know if you have any observations or recommendations. I'm just starting the summer transfer window now so plenty of time to get a few players in, bed in the tactics (or tweak them if needed). I'd love to get this team up competing in the Europa League spots, maybe with a sniff of top 4.

How do you guys adapt to the opposition adapting to you? My team crumbled in our last 10 games as the opposition were all playing 4-3-3 with IFB/IWBs to suffocate the middle, and sitting deep to prevent my AF having space. I've been playing as a team who were touted for mid-table/top half but we were in with a chance of Europa League/maybe 4th, but fell apart and finished 10th. I was moving between balanced and positive depending on who we were playing, but seemed to always start terribly when on positive.

Love this, the tactic posted in the first post matches what I like from a tactic. High pressing 4231 with a complete forward, a double pivot and an attacking wing back, but I've gone with two IWs due to personnel.. I'm creating a high xG each game but struggling for any consistency in front of goal. My forwards are just not being clinical, hitting the post, smashing the ball over the bar from the penalty spot when clean through, all the usual stuff... Can't see any reason for it from their stats, and the chances we're creating seem to be good opportunities. Forwards: Julian Alvarez, Elye Wahi, Matias Arezo Wingers/CAM: Joao Pedro, Andreas Schjelderup, Michael Olise, Roony Bardghji Lower tempo doesn't seem to help. Do I need some PIs or traits added? Or do I just need to adjust the tactic to suit my players a bit more? Maybe I'm just completely over-rating my players . Other question, would there be much change if the DM(s) was a BWM(s)? Joao Gomes and Manuel Ugarte are supposedly better suited as BWM(s). I do want to upgrade my DLP but don't have the rep currently to get the next level of player.

Thank you for the sheet and the detailed explanation. Good to see you're getting a tune out of Richarlison. I've used him in a couple of different saves and he just never seems to perform.

This looks really interesting and great to see your analysis of the Everton squad as I recently started a save with them too. The spreadsheet looks great. Is it something you'd be able to share? I tried to follow what you'd done to create it, sounds like you've put a lot of work in to it. I love graphical tools like this that make it clear to see what role to use people in, I can't easily tell from just viewing the player stats like some people can.

Hi, Long time FM-er, only occasional tactics dabbler. Usually I'd use a P&P tactic, but this year I'm trying to experiment and make my own tactic. Safe to say, it's a work in progress. I've read a lot of the material that has been posted on here over the years, but am very bad at identifying how things apply to my system, or what I should be looking for to understand why issues are occurring. I'm currently using Man Utd and want to play an attacking system that focuses on getting goals out of both Ronaldo and Bruno, with support from the likes of Rashford. I'm looking for assists to mainly come from Sancho, Shaw and Pogba. Unfortunately we're not blessed with midfielders and I haven't found it easy to fill those spots in the summer window so I do lack depth and solidity in that midfield two (I feel like Ole, having to rely on McFred haha). I'm doing okay against some teams, but struggling to beat the low block teams. Also early on in the season, I did find I was losing to the more mid-table teams. This was usually due to conceding first half goals. So far I'm getting a good goal output from Ronaldo and assists from Sancho in the more open games, but no real contribution from Bruno at all. Rashford has been injured so hasn't played much yet. Shaw is really active and getting in to good spaces, just not really creating any clear cut chances. One goal I'm seeing a lot, is a long ball down the middle, my LCB stepping up and missing the header and the striker running in behind them to score or either cut it back. Either that or my RCB stepping in to midfield to win a challenge and being done by a through ball round them. Also seen in the data hub that we're really struggling to make tackles: I appreciate that Pogba isn't going to be the most useful in a midfield two but if I play Fred in there (as I've had to do a lot when Pogba covers in the positions further forward), I'm worried that he's not really suitable to be a deep-lying playmaker and if I change that role I'm not sure what I'd use instead. In terms of goals, I'm creating lots of low-quality chances, the box seems very clogged, we put headers over the bar or its straight at the goalie. To add to all this, because I don't really know what is and isn't working I do tend to tweak a lot in the hope something works, without ever really settling on a tactic and running with it. I have no confidence in what I have done is correct. If you could kindly help me identify how to improve my system, I would really appreciate it. Thanks in advance.