Adonalsium

Great results there. I like the passing maps - players all over the pitch, looks like everyone is getting involved. The wide positions in FM23 always felt difficult for me, but in FM24 at least I think a Wingback on Support would actually work better than a Wide Midfielder on Support - weirdly despite being a more defensive position it behaves better in an attacking setup than a wide midfielder or a defensive winger.

Can you update with some pictures of what it looks like in-game? In possession (deep in the enemy zone and build-up) and out of possession defensive shape? Does it concede counters easily?

On support or defend, I haven't noticed a great difference in the inverted wing backs. But I like having at least one more defend duty there. If you're by and far the best side in the league, by all means put him on Support duty though. The overlap is just to coax the inverted wing backs to station themselves slightly higher up the pitch on average and give them a more attacking mentality.

The way I craft a 4-3-3, I like a 2-3-5 shape in possession and I love midfielders. So the way I cram as many midfielders as possible into my system while playing a 4-3-3 is with the following shape: The two defenders form a narrow base and the Regista combines very nicely with the inverted wing-backs to then form a bank of three in possession. The following passmap is very common: Build-up shape from a goal-kick below. You'll see one of the Central Midfielders has dropped deep while the other has pushed up. Inverted Wingbacks are wide options, allowing us to play out very easily. In possession, you already see the loose 2-3-5 forming: A common sequence in possession. Players overload one side of the pitch (notice the 4-on-3 in a tight space, leaving a spare man to pick out a switch of play to the other flank), and often the Central Midfielder (#8) on the other side of the pitch is left free to run into space behind. Many goals are scored this way. One final screenie. I just like how this set-up creates situations where we often outnumber a back four 5-to-4. This one's very similar to some others posted here but I like the simplicity of two central midfielders on attack. If I could have two ball-winning midfielders on attack, though, I'd replace them with those, haha. I just love a good BWM. The best middle ground is to just to tell your central midfielders to close down more often.

Your system looks interesting - I'm curious how it looks in the match engine! Would you be able to post some 2D images of how it works out on the pitch?

Much obliged with the images. It looks like a very wide 3-4-3 when building up from the back and progressing the ball, but then it narrows down a bit in the final third. I actually really like it when you had 4 players in the box and 3 players just outside the box, containing the opposition. I've found that effect is a bit difficult to achieve with something like a regular 4-3-3. Giving one of the CMs a player trait like "Arrives Late In the Box" would be interesting for those situations, if they are common. I'll try this out for myself too!

What a great season! League Two awaits... this is where the jump up in quality starts to get really noticeable, I think.

I'm honestly amazed that tactic even works this well! You essentially have no midfield and even your wingback is bombing forward - you must be conceding so many counterattacks. This is an interesting save, you don't see a lot of Swiss league saves.

Could you add some 2D images of what the formation tends to look like in possession of the ball? Maybe when countering, and when in prolonged possession?

I'm curious just what tactic you're using. Impressive how far you've already taken Kosovo! Have you noticed any general improvement in youth rating yet?

A player in this league demanding Championship playing time really is delusional! Rainey needs to be put in his place.

Great save! I really enjoy these sorts of games the most. I'm surprised there haven't been any players yet picked up by bigger clubs for big money. I rarely have the patience for long youth saves myself, but usually when I try them, I try them with some sort of tactic I try to make unique. It kind of naturally pairs with a long term youth save to try to also build some very elaborate tactic that takes a long time to bed into the club culture.

This is starting to resemble concern trolling. You have your answers. It isn't simple to quantify.

I've been having a lot of difficulties with FM23's match engine, personally. Something about it, when I try to create possession tactics with a solid build-up phase (whether in a 3-2 or a 2-3 shape), it just never seems to work. Does anyone who has had success doing this have any tips to share?

They're all correct. The Match Engine is a bit of an enigma at the best of times. Any instructions you put in are more like guidelines than rules.