[Cadiz - 442 overpowered? 3rd in La Liga after 22 games.]

17 hours ago, Sébastien ChabaI said:

Similar to how I play at Chelsea, on fm24 beta match engine my favourite role in the game is wm(s), what a brilliant role, if you tell a player to hold position and sit narrow like I do, they simply won't do it, it's like a completely spaghetti coded free role that knows no bounds, try it!

 

I don't know if this is the reason but I would check where your CM(s) and DLF(s) are in the build up. Is there space for the WM to sit narrower? Once thing I've noticed in the ME is that players will ignore PIs if it puts them in the same space as another player. Unless your comment wasn't actually sarcastic and you enjoy the free role  

[Recreating Eddie Howe's Newcastle United 4-3-3]

12 hours ago, Diverisma158 said:

hi, only u have 2 PI? or have more??

These are the 2 positions that are different to the original tactic that was created by @Smallen. I’ve changed the two I mentioned when moving into a back 4.

For reference, this same tactic doesn’t work that well in the FM24 ME currently but that might be down to initial bugs in the beta. Seen a lot of comments about high scoring games, poor goalkeeping etc which reflects what I see.

Using the new IFB role for Dan Burn sounds like it should work however IRL he still provides width albeit from a deep position. As an IFB he sits too narrow and doesn’t support the left wing enough. FBs is a closer replication of his positioning IMO with Schar staying wider on the opposite side.

Will start testing more once the full game is released.

[Recreating Eddie Howe's Newcastle United 4-3-3]

13 hours ago, Smallen said:

I'm going to start trying a mid or even low block (but same PI/OIs) in these games too I think. Newcastle have played a lower block against these teams away from home at times IRL this season so it's worth trying to make it work.

I've been trying something similar but still tweaking. Just played Liverpool at home and started with the standard tactic trying to get off to a fast start which worked. Went 2-0 up early. Towards the end of the half though, Liverpool really pushed forward and we struggled to contain them and they got one back. Switched to this at half time. 

  

Changes to PIs:

CMs

FBs

We were so much better defensively in the second half and great on the counter. Eventually finished with a 5-1 win. Obviously this is situational and was mainly driven by Liverpool wide players running riot cutting inside and getting in behind. So I dropped to a back 4 but still allowing Trips to get forward on the break. Dan Burn at LB still acted as a third CB when in possession so patterns of play still similar. Won't work in every game, but just and idea of what can work.

[Recreating Eddie Howe's Newcastle United 4-3-3]

Great read and the closest recreation I've seen to EH. Especially the link up down the right side and also the the way the Mez performs. Willock currently on 15 goals and 2 assists in 34 games.

@Smallen Interested to know what changes you make, if any, for games against bigger sides. I've tried going to a back four with a FBs with Hold potistion and Sit Narrower. Also switching the Regista to DLPs for more defensive solidity but I lose a lot of attacking threat. 

[Changes for away games]

On 20/02/2023 at 08:18, Cloud9 said:

Could be many factor from squad morale, tiredness. etc. so I will ballpark some general ideas that could be helpful.

• Most tactics require players who will provide width, I don't see anyone who does that in the starting 11 at the moment. (w/IF I'd recommend at least one wingback).
• If you're getting beaten in tougher games (which away games are) I'd suggest having an away tactic that has less artists and more soldiers in the starting 11, that the players are trained in.
• Your front three are all looking to score for themselves and offering very little creative/defensive impact for the squad. You could try switching one of them to a facilitating role in tougher matches. I would personally make this switch for home/away games.
• 2 BPD is greedy (which isn't a bad thing), but away from home could be a real problem. Try out a CD/BPD partnership.
• You're asking your players to do a lot in the instructions. Try simplifying the general tactics to your core principles and give individualized instructions in the PIs. "Be more expressive" is a PI I'd almost always leave off.

Hope some of that helps  

Thanks for the reply. I’ll give these a try and see what impact it has on tough away games.

Regarding your first point about width. The FBa is instructed to stay wider along with the IFs. If I’m playing a team that is tough to break down I’ll play wider and switch the RB &LB to wingbacks instructed to stay wider. I use WB(au) as they’re more customisable. For example, the left wing back will be told to hold position (something you can’t do with WBs)

[Changes for away games]

I'm hoping for some advice on how to improve my tactic for tough away games. Below is my base tactic which I make minor tweaks to during games based on whats happening. I'm unbeaten at home (only drawing one all season) and I'm very happy with how it plays. My record away from home is far from terrible having lost 5 times in 16 in the league but turning some of those losses into draws would close the gap to the top, a lot.

When playing much bigger sides away, I seem to get demolished every time. I'm predicted to finish 4th so shouldn't be miles of the pace and would expect to at least put up a fight in these games.

Changes I make currently for these games are dropping to mid block & standard defensive line, moving to slightly higher tempo and dropping mentality to Balanced or Cautious. Only role changes I make are Mez(a) to Mez(s), DLP(d) to Anchorman and occasionally BBM to BWM(s).

In terms of player profiles, I have a very good technical squad and a lot of pace in the front three.

Any help welcome!

 

[Is there a way to get Inv Wingers to cross from byline?]

I’ve had this issue as well. Ideally I want my IW to put a cross in from the byline when it’s the better option. I’ve tried playing a right footed player on the right, turning off WBITB, higher tempo etc. Nothing works. Every time they will cut back onto their left foot once they hit the byline. 

The only thing that has worked for me is using the Winger role with cut inside trait. Which to be fair, works very well. 

[Low CB rating every game]

Thanks for the replies.

I've just won 2-0 away from home. Once of my CBs had second highest pass completion (93%) and won 85% (out of 21) aerial challenges and got a 6.8 rating. Just feels like it should be higher. 

@herne79 perhaps it's the midfield screen, as you say.

If this is how the ratings work, then won't this affect the development of good partnerships as my CBs will have low ratings therefore, in FM terms, they will have a poor partnership?

 

[Low CB rating every game]

Before I post my tactic etc, I wanted to understand whether my CBs constantly getting ratings of 6.6 or less is due to the current known issues with defending in the ME and whether others are suffering the same problem? 

I can keep a clean sheet, with the opposition having a relatively low xG but still get poor ratings. Watching extended highlights and there is no obvious errors from them so I'm wondering whether it's just happening during the rest of the game. 

Sometimes the known defensive issues are glaringly obvious and outrageously frustrating which clearly affect the rating but I can win 3-0 and both CBs have a low rating.

Have others seen the same thing?

Anyway, back to FM22 for the time being  

[*Official* Football Manager 2022 Feedback Thread]

I'm not sure if this has already been mentioned but I'm getting a lot of issues with unhappy players that need resting. I see this problem as two-fold. Firstly. My tactic is not that intensive (Intensity bar is around 60% full) however, a lot of my top players can barely play 2 games in a row. My staff are always raising fitness concerns. Also, to add to this, my training intensity is around 50% at most as well. 

Secondly, the above results in a lot of unhappy players because they aren't starting enough games to a point where my star striker has handed in a transfer request because he hasn't been fit enough to start the last 4 games after I told him that he would get more starts.. Their condition is rarely above "Good" and they have the "Rst" symbol next to them. Most of my senior players are younger than 26 and have Stamina and Natural Fitness above 14.

I accept that I am playing in the league, 2 cups and the champions league, but I feel like this is a bit unrealistic.

Is this something that others have had similar issues with? Or am I reading too much into what the game is telling me and I should play them anyway?

[Everything TOTAL Football (From Cruyff's 343 to Guardiola's Overloads) - UPDATED Feb 28, 2023]

Looking forward to the next installment!

 

@crusadertsar sorry if I've missed it but will you be covering scouting at all? I'd be interested to see how you set up your scouting network and assignments for this approach. 

[Where I go from here?]

1 hour ago, Experienced Defender said:

It's a bit of an ungrateful task to criticize a tactic that has brought you so much success and overachievement. But anyway, here are my observations.

I would definitely not:

- play a mezzala and attacking fullback on the same side (much less with the overlap TI turned on), obviously for defensive reasons

- play a mezzala and wide forward next to him on the same duty (except perhaps for the winger role), although I am not going to claim that such a combo can never work (just judging from my personal experience)

- play a (relatively) conservative fullback role behind an inside-oriented wide forward or wide midfield role (referring to the combo of FBsu and IW on your left flank), because the fullback may fail to provide proper attacking support during certain phases of attack

But that's just me and my approach to tactics. So if you don't like the above suggestions, just ignore them and play however you like 

This really interesting and thanks for taking the time to respond.

To respond to the above...

The FBa and the Mez on the same side helped create an overload on that side and allowed me to control possession there. 

The FBs on the left had the "get forward whenever possible" ppm so he offered some support.

I'm interested to know what you would do with the above players/tactics. Would you be able to offer any insight? 

[Where I go from here?]

16 minutes ago, DarJ said:

Personally looking at this there are a few things I would change but first I want to ask you if the problem is that you're not creating enough chances or that you're conceding a lot.

If the problem is you conceding, how does that happen? 

I don't concede too many, as I've got one of best defensive records in the league (32 conceded), as well as one of the best attacking records (73 scored). It sounds stupid that I'm even asking for advice I know but I just want to get rid of the frustrating losses. Toward the end of the season I would have a lot of shots but very few on target.

I'll generally concede via a deep cross from a full back or from a through ball. I don't really concede from balls over the top.

[Where I go from here?]

Every year my long term save is always with my home team Newcastle United. Over the last 2 iterations of FM this save has amounted to nothing and I struggled to make any sort of challenge for silverware. FM21 though, has been a revelation. The new match engine seems a lot easier for me to get my head around, or so I thought. Following a first season of a small amount of overachieving and finishing 8th, I get taken over and got some money to spend. My second season in charge saw us qualify for the champions league which was definitely unexpected. 

Then we come to my thirst season where the despondency kicks in. After having a great first half of the campaign which left me top of the league (5 points clear of second) and awaiting a Champions League tie against Dortmund in the knockout stages, I was on a high. Then the losses came. Despite managing to beat Dortmund both home and away (4-0 aggregate win), I started giving away so many points in the league. Losing out to Reading, Leeds, Villa, Cardiff and West Ham I eventually had to settle for 5th place. Still an over achievement. Which why my question is "Where do I go from here?".

I made some big signings thanks to some even bigger sales (Allan Saint-Maximan went to Man City for £80million) but a lot of players were left unhappy with lack of playing time and ultimately left. My bank balance and transfer budget has been bolstered but I was left with a fairly thin squad.

 

I mainly used the below tactic throughout the season.

 

I went fairly aggressive and used a split block with the front three and the two wide CMs pressing more urgently and also used the Overlap Right to get my RB forward quicker as the APs would find him a lot (WB dribbles too much). Against defensive teams, I lowered tempo slightly and played wider if they packed the middle and sat back. I only use counter press occasionally and not for a full game. Similarly, counter I only really use when there is space to actually do so. I originally started with a DLPd in the DM strata but found that pushing him up between the two CMs helped cover the wide areas without using a CARs and they naturally start a bit wider in the defensive phase. 

So back to my question, where do I go from here? I want to play an aggressive style of football. I'm not too bothered about possession as good quality chances are far more important to me. I just feel that I have a team good enough squad to consistently challenge the top teams. Below are screenshots of my best players. If anyone willing to help, wants to ask anything let me know!

 

 

 

 

[FM21 for Dummies - A simple approach to FM21]

This is such a great write up. I've fallen into the trap before that I think a lot of people do. I used to think the tactic was the be all and end all and would get frustrated when I had a seemingly balanced and solid tactic but would lose a lot of games. I always had my preferred formation (433) and would set it up with decent roles and duties but not really pay attention to the players strengths and weaknesses. 

If you're managing an established team (doesn't even need to be top flight) you'll find quite easy to build a balanced tactic by using the current players best roles. 

Another thing that made a huge different to me was watching as much of the game as possible. I started watching the entire game as it was so easy to adapt to what's happening but also it's so satisfying to see your analysis and changes turn into a goal. 

The next stage of this is to then to transition and adapt your tactics and players as you improve. I'm still unsuccessfully working on this 

[FM21 - Total Football, A club dna project with positional play]

Great thread @04texag.  Any plans on detailing your approach to training from youth teams up to first team? It's something I've never quite grasped!

[Incorrect Media Questions]

I just lost in the FA cup semi final on penalties and the media are asking the below as if I won and am now in the final

 

[Bobby Robson 4-4-2 - How do Target Men work]

It depends what you want. Shearer was more of a TMa in my opinion. 

I'd also leave arma as a AF as I'd want him to really push the defensive line. However it depends what you see during the game. It might be that he's too far away from the target man to produce a good link up. So maybe try something that starts a bit deeper like a poacher. To be honest though a TMa might help this anyway. 

I am by no means an expert so take what I say with a pinch of salt 

[Bobby Robson 4-4-2 - How do Target Men work]

Following on from @Experienced Defender on the defensive aspect, correct me if I'm wrong but I don't remember wor Bobby pressing high. Bellamy would close down more if opposition played out from the back and Shearer didn't close down too much. I'd say standard line of engagement, standard closing down and remove prevent short GK distribution. 

I'd also question the decision to force opponents inside when you've only got 2 in midfield. I think you're likely to get outnumbered. I'd prefer to leave this as standard. 

Obviously just my opinion. Would be great to see a recreation of that side though. Great times!

[[FM21] 4:3:3 counter tactic]

Thanks mate. Are there any PIs?

[[FM21] 4:3:3 counter tactic]

Can you get screenshot in English please? Thanks 👍🏻 unbelievable achievement in first season with Newcastle. You must have spent some money!

[Injuries]

I second this. After pre-season I've got 4 new major injuries. 

[The pains of overachieving - tactic/style help!]

Thanks for this. I'll give this a go. I forgot to include Rayan Cherki who I've just brought in on loan from city who is a lot better than Veron in AML. He's strong on both right and left foot so should be a good option as the IW. 

One question if have is how you'd adapt this against top teams? My next match is United away and this set up doesn't feel comfortable! 

Thanks again.

[The pains of overachieving - tactic/style help!]

Every year on FM I always go for a long term save with Newcastle and always struggle. Thanks to some help from @Experienced Defender a couple of weeks back my most recent season has been a successful one (predicted 12th and finished 5th), qualifying for Europe. I've mainly been playing on the counter which has worked wonders being a lower ranked team and has been the main contributor in being a huge overachiever this last season. I'm now at that awkward stage the most FMers experience at some stage where counter attacking football is no longer an option for the majority of games. 

So I need a plan B but I can't quite get any consistency from it. Now I'm predicted to finish 7th and my board require me to play attacking football. I've never really played all out attacking football for any length of time. It's usually situation dependant, normally when chasing a goal. I'm starting to struggle against almost every opposition. Even against weaker sides it's hard to tell where I'm going wrong. Sometimes I'll get hit on the counter and other times I'll struggle to have more that 5 shots. Against bigger sides, I can still stay in the game and maybe sneak a draw but I never look like threatening a win!

The original tactic that got me to 5th place is this:

The mentality changes throughout the game and I occasionally add Pass into Space and Be More Expressive if I'm struggling to break someone down. In home games against really weak teams, I'll move the ML/R up to AML/R with similar roles & duties.

As mentioned above, what I'd like to do is have a plan B that is a bit more dominant and imposing in order to control games. I've got some good technical players as well as some very good prospects. My starting 11 is as follows:

 

 

 

I fell like I've got a team that can dominate and on paper, they could challenge for Europe again! I've also got a couple of very good prospects who are pushing for the first team this season:

 

Any help and advice would be greatly welcomed! I'm not opposed to changing shape as I've got a few good strikers so could easily go 2 up top if needs be.

Thanks in advance!

 

 

[Young Devils - Home of Bielsa, Total Football and Brazilian Magic Box (Man Utd FM20 Experiment)]

@crusadertsar I've previously used a 4312 with adventurous fullbacks to stretch them but also have numbers centrally which has worked well. My 2 main strikers currently are Haaland and Esposito so there's plenty of quality there. I think the shape might be the answer as I've tried tempo and that just results in more blocked shots and more turnovers in possession. I've tried dropping the DL to standard and LOE to lower, again to no avail. 

 

Thanks for you advice!