04texag

Those are all proper ideas. I think mine is a very loose idea as I’m trying to utilize my teams talents more than replicate. Aleix Garcia can roam a fair bit though and is the playmaker. HB on a previous fm would make sense but on this version he will drop too deep and be too much of a cb and less of a playmaker. Especially as you said you let the left CB dribble more and be progressive.

I am playing on FM24, but I didn't want to be too limited when the ball is on the right flank. A true strict 316 would use the IFB like you mentioned. But then, I'd be wasting this amazing player who should be playing further up the pitch.

I've been testing a 433 which moves into the 316 shape, looking to try out something similar to what Girona is doing this year. You need the IWB to push further forward, tell the left footed, left sided BPD to stay wider. It's been working and playing a treat.

It also could be the player. Player traits obv make a big difference to these movements.

Great post! Your writing is always great and I like these threads about tactical styles I'm not as familiar with. Also, you give me honors I'm not sure I'm worthy of, but thanks! Keep up your great writing and approach!

Possibly, depends on where in play, as they will position differently with and without the ball, and what part of the pitch the ball is. Try it and watch on full highlights to see.

You could try giving them man marking instructions to force them to favor one side over another.

This definitely works.

Decisions I think is super important. Players need to know what to do with the ball and the faster control play needs quick decisions with shorter time on the ball. I'd maybe prioritize that over composure although both are important.

I've had success before using the AP out on the wing in the AMR slot, but you don't want to have too many playmakers. An option I would try over any others is to use the IW-S, tell him to stay wide, and hold up the ball. A good player with dribbling skills will still make runs, but it will tone it down some. The instruction is meant to have the player hold up play long enough for other support players and runners around them to move into position. Which, sounds like exactly what you're looking for. You can also add this instruction to a winger on support if I remember correctly. Out of town and don't have the game handy atm.

Pretty well. In my new save, I don't have the right player here yet. I'm using Angel Di Maria, and his mentals and technicals are great, but his physicals are waning being that he's 35. Still, he's close to turning it on. His rating is high, performing well, but could be better. I do have some PI's with this tactic. RMD - Take more risks, dribble more. AP has the most...., everyone else is fairly vanilla

Have you tried it and watched the movements? The back three forms out of the IFD, BPD and the HB. When the CWB pushes well forward, the HB drops in just behind him out wide. That 4231 tactic is a very fluid tactic though, and not a highly structured 325. As I mentioned, that 4231 plays a lot like that, but it's not truly that. On the flip side, I actually came here this morning to post my in progress 3 box 3 tactic. It's been delightful, and much more faithful and structured as a 325, or moreso a 3 box 3. First, links to articles. I don't have the time to write up too much, so here are some reference articles I suggest anyone curious about this stuff to read, they are very good. https://spielverlagerung.com/2021/03/22/how-guardiola-3-2-2-3-ultimately-solved-the-defending-meta/ https://tacticallyspeaking.co.uk/2023/04/28/comparing-3-box-3-and-2-3-5/ Seriously, read those links. Now, for a fun 3 box 3 that has been creating a lot of what I'm looking for. 3 at the back, rest defense varied between the back 5 and attacking from the front 5. The box 4 in the middle (In game it's much more pronounced then the pass map/data analyst screens show). And the striker drops deep some as well to form the top of the pentagon. My FM23 save got bugged. Super bummed. So I've started a new save with Benfica. I don't have the best players at either flanks FB spot, they don't really match up well with what I'm wanting to do, but they are good players for other tactics, so they will do for now. Aside from wanting to do the 3 box 3, I was intrigued by the infamous Ozil to the Arsenal (who seemingly I can't link to his username anymore ). He now exclusively posts on X, formerly known as twitter. My tactic works to do a very similar shape in attack. I've got Joao Mario moving central and being the prime link for the team. Luis moves left to create room for the right IWB. Joao Neves (sign this kid, he's been great) gets well forward due to his CM-A role, which the winger has given space for. And so the DLF naturally will settle more to the left away from the CM-A. The RMD-A is a role I've really been trying to make work. The though behind it is that with the left full back tucking in and staying deep, there should be ample space naturally for the RMD to find and operate in, so the shape and role match up well. I'd say give it a go. I occasionally have been using play out from the back as an option to draw the defense out more if they are sitting back in a block, as the weaker Premier League clubs will do against Benfica. Here's the start to our brand new save's first season, which includes Goncalo Ramos having been out injured.

Thanks for the feedback. Yes, I can post tactics soon. I really wanted to write more of an article to get people thinking about tactics so that they can adapt these ideas for their own teams and saves. But a starting point is helpful. Come to think of it, the 433 in the first post and the 4231 posted recently are both very good IMO for getting started.

Pretty much the only two with PI are the AMC, with roams from position and moves into channels, and the AMR with stays wider. That's it.

Possession Levers One of the things I like to do with my base tactic is try to keep the amount of instructions more limited. I want the mentality, to match with what I want to do, my PRD to determine my overall player strategies, then dial in the specifics with TI's. I don't like seeing tactics posted everyone online that have every box checked seeking to break the ME. So, my base tactic has Positive play, players roles setup to play how I want with mixes of support players, creators, runners, scorers etc. I want us to play a possession game and build from the back, but as discussed, we don't even use that instruction. But it's very important to remember that we are building a system, and not a ME breaking tactic. And so you must sometimes slow down and watch the games play out, and then adjust accordingly. Below our some common tweaks I'll make, which I call levers. I try to envision making these changes as throwing switches/levers, where I know what I'm seeing, and if I throw a lever, I should see an immediate impact or direct result. I'm trying to work within known boundaries of causation, and not just willy nilly selecting stuff at random, throwing mud to the wall to hope something sticks. First step If we are struggling for any reason in a game, or I feel we might need a switch, I will immediately slow the sim down and watch highlights, sometimes at full game. I'll often look at the score, possession percentage, passing percentage, and for any standout performers. Below are two common occurrences when using my positional play tactics and then some of my decision logic based on watching highlights. Possession but no intent The challenge in FM, especially with 433 shapes over the years, is it can be easy to dominate possession in a game, but look very plain while doing so. I've found this to often be the case, and thus my base tactic tries to avoid this. That said, usually, we dominate against most teams. Especially deeper into a save when you've had time to build your squad around your playstyle. So in games where you are dominating and seeing possession hovering around 60%, you likely need to take some more risks. After confirming that our possession is high and we are not offering enough threat, I will secondarily check the shots before making a change here. Are we belting a lot of long shots with a low shots on target percentage? If no, then I will not change much other than adding Pass into space. This instruction will encourage our playmakers to try more through balls and longer passes onto runners looking to make threatening runs. This is one of the most direct ways in FM I have found to increase the 3rd man runs. This instruction will increase risk and lower our possession generally, but hopefully unlocking the defense for a scoring chance in the process. Additionally, I may add the counter instruction on to add some attacking edge, but you really need to watch the ME highlights to see if this is appropriate. If our shots on target % is low, I will add Work the ball into box, as this will minimize long shots and needless crossing, instead opting to work harder for a better opportunity closer to the goal. This will slow us down and increase possession though, which may not be what we want if we are searching for a goal. If we are ahead in the game, then go for it. This can be advantageous. If we are tied or *gasp* losing, this may not be smart. Instead, you might try Play for Set Pieces if your team is decent at them. Struggling for Possession Usually in champions league play, or in matches against other league title contenders, the games will be close fought affairs. Often in these matches, I'll find we are struggling for possession and need to make some tweaks to be more cautious or encourage a slower more methodical build up. Again, it's best in these scenarios to slow down the ME highlights and watch for a bit to see why first. Are we getting pressed heavily? Then it may make a lot of sense to increase our tempo slider by one. Ideally, we do not want to increase this too much, as it will have a big impact, especially without plays out of defense on. We do not want to completely bypass our playmakers, which a higher tempo is more prone to doing. So you must watch and adjust tempo so that your players are holding the ball until pressed, then passing just before the pressing defender gets to them. In some scenarios I will even lower tempo to the lowest setting if playing against a parked bus where the defense doesn't press hardly at all. Alternately, sometimes we will be playing at a fine tempo, but our players are making too many risky passes. We do not want to just ping the ball around needlessly, as you must remember the Lillo quote, we want to move the opposition, not just the ball. I've found while playing with these tactics that sometimes the Be more expressive instruction causes more players to play risky passes and we can lose out on some build up even when not being pressed hard. In these scenarios, I just untick the instruction. Another final thing I will watch for in the ME is our transition game. If we are playing well defensively, but triggering counterattacks too often, we can lose possession again before we have had much of a chance to get into our shape and build up overloads. When I see this occuring, I will add the instruction Hold Shape to discourage needless counter attacking. This will directly improve our possession percentage in most scenarios, allowing us to slow down and try to unlock the defense with our system and not pure chance upon a counter. Final action Sometimes, you just simply need to swap players around or make a substitution. A final thing I will look at, often pausing the game and taking a moment, is the current match ratings and performance of both teams. I'll look at my players first, are any of my stars struggling? If so, why? Tired players need substitution, and over played players, if not playing well early in a game, I do not hesitate to bench them so they can get rest and a fresher pair of legs can come in. Our system will work to our advantage and we must let it. I look then to the opposition team as well. If there are any standouts, especially if they have a playmaking role or I've seen them routinely feature in highlights, I'll use Opposition Instructions and select to Mark tighter and Press more often. And that's about it for some possession levers I use in game to impact the overall pace and result of a game. I'd love to see some responses to this post and hear what some of you all do in similar scenarios to adjust on the fly within a game.