jc577

Lovely goal

4231 doesn’t really strike me as a formation suited to getting the best out of a TQ, purely because of the presence of an attacking midfielder. That is the space the TQ wants to occupy, coming deep and then playing through on-rushing midfielders/wide-forwards. A TQ would work well in the AMC strata in this formation, but if you want to use him as a striker then a 433 would be better suited.

I don't think it's necessarily to do with team shape, but more the type of role you're using. Both the AP and ENG are playmakers, so naturally will come deeper to receive the ball (AP especially). Having said that, is the AM coming deep actually a problem? How involved is he in attacks? Does play bypass him? If these things are true, then it may be a problem, but if not, and your tactic is working, then stick with it.

Fair enough As long as you have a vision for how you want the tactic to play out, that’s all that matters. Good luck man.

Firstly nice OP, will be following this with interest I don’t really have an issue with the tactic itself, but more of a personnel issue. Januzaj only has 12 for off-the ball + finishing, whilst Juanmi has 14 for both attributes. Also, Januzaj has the PPM ‘looks for the pass rather than attempting to score’, conversely Juanmi likes to get into the opposition area... you see where i’m going with this Would make a lot more sense for them to switch roles; let Adnan create and have Juanmi be the attacking threat from wide areas.

@robterrace has given you really good advice, I haven’t got too much to add. I actually got Portsmouth promoted to the Prem in back-to-back seasons (albeit via the play-offs), although I used a 442 and rigidly stuck to it. Occasionally I’d move my Poacher (Chaplin) to the other side if the opposition had an attacking full-back playing there so he could attack the space in-behind. Seen as you got promoted easily last season, it’s likely a personnel issue. Not sure what transfers you’ve made, but I found Portsmouth really lacked good full-backs, especially on the left. Constantly got destroyed down that side, even with a CM-d and IW-S giving him cover. Try and make use of the loan system, I managed to get two players (Brewster + Connor Ronan) who were crucial in winning us promotion. Lastly, try and get your strikers firing, a good goalscorer will go a long way, at any level. Chaplin scored over 35 league goals in my first season, and Brewster got around the same when in the championship; without these two goalscorers there’s no way I would have got promoted. Good Luck!

How did you get the strikers to drop that deep when out of possession?

I agree. A right-footed player in the left half-space can receive the ball on his back foot (stronger foot) thus opening the pitch up, providing him with more angles for the pass. This is real life theory of course, not sure how much it applies in FM terms.

Loved your narrow system's thread last year, and this one seems to be following on in the same fashion keep it up mate, really educational and enjoyable.

442 is actually very strong this year, I took Portsmouth from League 1 to a 13th placed finish in the prem in consecutive seasons. That being said, using a DM based formation should help shore things up defensively, especially if your CD’s are weak mentally/overly aggressive.

Interesting, is this something you tweak game-by-game? In the past i’ve had trouble dealing with pacey wingers just destroying my full-back (on support or defend) so i’m wondering if using a wing-back may have helped?

Red.

This will be very helpful for me as i’m doing the exact same thing Struggling for initial ideas.. had thought about moving to a strikerless 442 but seems like a cop out

Skipped the last challenge is a rarely use more than 2/3 TI’s anyway these days, but this looks fun Makes a change from usually playing with two strikers, to none at all

I think it just depends on how you want to play the game to be honest. A lot of good players on the forum will advise you to keep your tactic the same, watch the first 10-15 mins and adjust if needed. Others take a different approach and try to exploit their opponents weakness - this could be through a chance of formation. Funnily enough, a lot of RL managers changed to a 3ATB system when facing Chelsea during the 16/17 season, although still ended up getting hammered