RDF Tactics

Hey guys, I tested this tactic and included all the information to get the tactic as effective as possible (as said by the tactic author)

I'd personally play Tumminello as a AF and Otto as DLF (a)..then maybe your IW on support

I agree with this! I tend to never look at position familiarity and most on their attributes. At United (I know, you can win all the time haha), playing Pogba and Bruno as traditional wingers was better than using actual wingers and that's because they have excellent attributes that also allows them to play in that position. but for me on FM, I hardly sign players with bad anticipation and decisions. Those two attributes are very key, and teamwork, this usually allows me to try things like playing certain players out of their natural position

This thread looks like fun!!

How does the DLP (d) perform for you? I'd usually have that on Support but then again, I guess it makes sense with an WB on Attack. For Gegenpress, I try to have many support roles, I feel it helps in transitions. For fun, can try IF on support with the WB on support too and have overlap on that flank. On the opposite flank, an IW(s) with WB(s). DLP(s) and AP(a)

agreed!

Hello, guys. So this has been brought to my attention in my Discord server. Like @Jack722 explains, there's hardly any width and 'defensive' sides tend to defend the middle well unless you break that shape and get width. This tactic can work, given you have quality players (as you do with City) minor tweaks. What also may work is if you add dribble more on the full backs and get further forward. Defensive sides sit back, so naturally on FM your full backs will look to get forward no matter what, and you can tune their behaviour with PIs rather than having to change the role completely. With the IWB and IW on the same side, they will almost never invert at the same time (as it says in the IWB description) but you can always add overlap on the right as well to get him making the overlap more a little more frequently, helping break down sides. I also agree with @jack772 about the recreation itself. City liked to use wingers with a CM breaking through centrally. But on FM, that doesn't happen as frequently as you need it to and it felt a waste trying to achieve that. City's wingers could also invert as Pep never stuck to the same every match so instead, I tried to use inverted roles but asking them to stay wide, in hope we can achieve both staying wide and inverting. In FM, there's not really right or wrong roles. People tend to think or believe certain roles will not work together. There are faults with playing a IWB and IW on the same side but at the same time, it can also be rewarding, Not the best way to test tactics, but I just ran a holiday test with it (photos below). It did win the league and never drew as much, but certainly lost more than expected.

exactly what I wanted with the CBs but wide attacking width encouraged too much wide play and also led to too many misplaced passes. It's really crazy how much one instruction can take effect on the whole tactic lol we're already open for counters and wider just left us exposed. Possibly drop the DLP to DM?

The Intro: Due to a tactical change, Ronald Koeman's men look revitalized under the new 3-5-2/3-4-3 system, which looks to have mitigated some players' weaknesses and improves key players' performances. The tactical switch has had many positive effects off the ball. They are now a better pressing side, and on the ball, the side looked to have found their rhythm and played some excellent fluid football. Along with the tactical switch, Barcelona have been producing some excellent results. Most noticeably in their La Liga and Copa Del Rey 2nd leg matches against Sevilla, their 4-1 victory at home to Huesca and their biggest win yet, 6-1 away to Real Sociedad were we saw Barcelona completely dominate the game and put on a fantastic controlling display. Barca had 69% ball possession to boast with the victory. Though it's still early doors with this system, we've seen the advantages of playing with 3 at the back has given Barcelona, especially with their press, as they can now man-mark their opponents out of the game, limiting the time their opponents have on the ball. But what exactly has changed tactically? The Better Press Barcelona's press has changed and is now more aggressive and rewarding if the risks pay off. Messi and Dembele position themselves as the front two, which prevents the opposition's goalkeeper from distributing the ball to either central defender, and this force's the goalkeeper to look wide. Forcing the opponents out wide or forcing the distribution to the full-backs immediately reduces the number of passing options that the wide man will have on the ball and creates uncertainty. The errors are forced because of the pressure applied by Barcelona's wing-backs, who look to engage and close down the angles the player on the flank has on the ball. Another welcomed benefit of this new pressing shape is that it forces their opponent's full-backs deeper than preferred. Sevilla and Real Sociedad have full-backs who typically like to advance and are offensive-minded, but this system didn't allow them to be. They took up average positions deeper than usual during the recent matches against Barcelona. Barcelona's new system also has seen them man-marking their opponents when they're trying to build, limiting the time each player has on the ball and effectively isolating those players. But the risks lie if the aggressive press is bypassed. Because of the man-marking system, this encourages defenders to leave their defensive area, which leads to gaps and possibly expose de Jong if he's to play in central defence in the long run (assuming this system is kept). The wing-backs generally play an integral role in this system, both in and out of possession. This is also due to Barcelona using the flanks to progress up the field, freeing up space for the central players. When Barca builds from the back, the two wing-backs stay wider, but on different lines disrupting any press and offering themselves outlets so Barcelona can progress up the field and out of possession, they are vital in pinning the opponent's full-backs. Given Barcelona's incredible average possession since the switch doesn't just indicate how well they can keep the ball but also how well they are counter-pressing once the ball is lost. Though Barca lost heavily in the 1st CL leg tie against PSG (not using this system), they still went to Paris believing they could put in a performance, which they did. The game ended 1-1, but Barcelona played PSG off the park, and their pressing proved too difficult for PSG, with them only having 27% off the ball. As each game passes with this new system, the players are becoming more familiar with it and certain player improvements are becoming more evident. Conclusion Whether Koeman chooses to stick with this system is yet to be known, but one thing is for sure, and that is that it brought a feel-good factor to those connected with the club. With Barca now chasing the La Liga title, which seemed a long reach just weeks ago, this system could be what they need to close the 4 points between them and the league leaders. It is also important to note that they have players missing, and with de Jong playing as the sides Libero, it will be interesting to see how Pique will fit in if he can. This system offers Barcelona a lot of tactical fluidity, and they can rotate without changing the system too much. Jordi Alba and Dest are currently the sides wing-backs, but it's a job Junior Firpo and Sergio Roberto can do. The young talent Ilaix Moriba often features as a sub, frequently for Pedri, which indicates they could do a man for man swap in central midfield. Coutinho, Fati and Ricard Puig are even more talented players who can come in if the likes of Griezmann or Dembele need a rest. Barcelona have been a great possession side with this system but Koeman doesn't shy away from being more direct and has players capable of breaking lines. The central players are enjoying more freedom and this is partly down to the wide men freeing space for them to operate. Barcelona have pressed high and aggressively immediately putting them on the front foot and with now just the La Liga to focus on, will Koeman win the title in his first year in charge? Thank you for reading my tactical analysis of Barcelona's brand new formation. DOWNLOAD! - TRAINING INCLUDED. RDFs Ronald Koeman Barcelona 2020-21.rar

So for example, his Beowulf tactics generally are based around the same tactic instructions. Same as Echo, Dark Side, etc....They tend to have set instructions. Freestyle maybe means that it doesn't have set instructions, so each Disraeli gears tactic can come with different instructions. It's not really based of any instructions, whereas his Wulf tactics will have some set instructions that'll be in all Wulf tactics. I think that's correct anyway lol

When most of his opponents would play a 4-4-2 formation, Johan Cruyff would play a 3-4-3. Johan Cruyff believed a certain way was the best way to win a football match, and that was to dominate your opponents in all areas on the pitch, which led to some eye-catching offensive displays. He believed playing 4 at the back was a waste (against two strikers) and that the extra player could be used elsewhere, in a more advanced area. This then allowed his team to form more triangles further up the pitch, aiding the possession game and disrupting the opponent's shape to go on and play the beautiful football. THE SYSTEM: Johan Cruyff wanted to make the pitch as small as possible when out of possession, but he wanted his team to stretch the pitch in possession. This wide positioning often took shape when the team played out from the back, and the wide defenders were key as they had to move into wider positions to create passing angles. As mentioned before, opponents often played with two strikers, and with Cruyff using three defenders meant they could have a numerical advantage when playing out from the back with it being a 3v2 situation. The single-pivot would also be a passing option. He made horizontal movements to collect the ball from the Libero if the strikers chose to press, closing down the defender's passing angles. The central defender also had the license and ability to play the more direct ball. The wide defenders had an interesting role in this system because of the somewhat contradicting tasks but ties into Cruyff's positional play. They're expected to be wide, as this gives options when playing from the back and allows the two wingers to move in centrally. They also had to understand when to come inside to be an extra passing option in midfield; then, the wide attackers would stay wide to stretch the opponents. Cruyff was all about positional play. His players had to know when to come short for a pass and when to give their teammates the space they need with the ball. The defensive midfielder was the hub, almost as if the team was moving around him as he kept things ticking. On the ball, he made the vertical passes feeding the attacking players, and off-the-ball, Jordi Cruyff described Pep Guardiola, who played in this position, as a master of angles. Ahead of the defensive midfielder are the two central midfielders who had two different roles though they were primarily creative players. But one was more of the engine and making forward runs into the channels to stretch the opponents whilst the other had the job of linking the midfield and attack, mainly supported the defensive midfielder in progressing the ball further up the pitch, almost acting as the more advanced playmaker. The two wingers stretching the pitch and staying wide meant that the central players had space to operate and roam around. The striker wasn't a typical number 9; he was a false-9, which disrupted the opponent's defence because he looked to drop into the midfield and often caused a defender to follow and create a gap in the defence. This allowed either one of the wide men to move in centrally or the attacking midfielder to penetrate that gap. But this wasn't heavily relied upon. The attacking midfielder didn't purely focus on getting in behind because he also had to help overload in the defending teams' midfield, creating a 5x4 situation (if the opponents played a 4-4-2) again, gaining a numerical advantage. OFF THE BALL The attacking players had the job of releasing pressure on the defence, and this meant they had to engage and press high; this also allowed the defence line to be higher, to remain compact. Being compact also helped with their transitional play, as players remained close to each other, and this meant it was easier for them to roam around and swap positions. It was important to win the ball back as quickly as the team could because a long period without the ball could be dangerous and left the team vulnerable. Naturally, having many attacking players meant that they could transition into their press smoothly, and if they had to start their press centrally, they were able to shift their opponents out wide to make the pitch seem smaller for them, which is what Cruyff loved to do. Make the pitch small when out of possession but expand it when in possession. Because of shifting the opponents out wide, the wingers or wide men became important to the press as they could stop the ball from coming back inside, and this forced panic and errors. MINOR DETAILS Johan Cruyff was fascinated by angles and triangles, not just in football. But in football, he felt the more triangles you have, the more options to play. But he also didn't like them on the same lines; for example, with the triangle between the DM and two CMs, the DM would be deeper to avoid all 3 midfielders being out of the game if one had lost the ball. 3-4-3 wasn't the only system Cruyff used and the 4-3-3 was the formation he predominantly used before introducing the 3-4-3 and it was in the 4-3-3 we got to see him use inverted-wing backs. He could also form a diamond using the 4-3-3 but he felt it lacked width once the diamond was formed and the 3-4-3 gave him more triangles and diamonds. And that wraps up my tactical analysis on Johan Cruyff's 3-4-3. I hope you have enjoyed the read. JOHAN CRUYFF TACTIC (THREE TACTICS) AND TRAINING SCHEDULES RDF's Johan Cruyff's Total Football.rar

Wow, these look nice, will test them out later! Maybe we can create training schedules for them and find the best players to suit the tactic

Maybe you would want to use Attacking Mentality with Counter instruction when you win possession. Inverted Wingers will look to overload your Attacking Midfield position but Inverted Forwards will look to make lateral runs into the channel so Inside Forwards are probably best suited or can use one of each. The Shadow Striker for sure will making runs trying to take advantage. Pushing wing-backs forward, you're running a small risk of getting caught which is why I dropped the DLP into the DM position rather than the CM position. I find it's better for possession but also can help add protection against counter-attacks. Every system though, will come with risks

I don’t see an issue with it, as long as you are well balanced in other areas. Maybe I wouldn’t have them dictating the same line. So one dictating deeper and one dictating in advanced areas. That way you could have one controlling your build-up and dictating the speed of your build up and the advanced playmaker will dictate play in the opponents final 1/3

It's difficult to understand what you want but what I do take from this...PF will set the tempo for the press with the high LOE. Shadow Striker will/should follow closely. With two inverted players and narrow width, you can make the pitch small and difficult for the opponents to get out. If they do break the press, you have a BWM trying to pick up the pieces and he's protected by the the DLP. Two wing-backs attacking offering natural width because you have two inverted wingers and also their starting position will be high which is good for the press. Nothing tested, just got this from reading your post