Jack Sarahs

Tuesday at 12:06

On 06/05/2024 at 21:33, bababooey said:

I really can't say enough good things about positional play and how it's been implemented into FM24. It's fantastic.

Look at this build up shape, below. It's *perfect*.

We occupy all of the important zones on the pitch, and force the other team to either A.) let us have the ball continuously or B.) come close us down, lose their shape, and allow us to penetrate space.

How did we end up with this shape? Here's the tactic. It's quite basic and simple.

The team instructions are mostly irrelevant here (and this isn't intended to be a comprehensive post explaining how this works).

It looks like such a defensive-minded tactic on paper. 4 players on defend duties across the back line, 2 DM's, and only 2 attack duties throughout. And yet, I've never created more scoring chances than with this shape, as it morphs into a 3-2-5 in possession.

It was weird going away from my tried and true 4-3-3, but I wanted to make use of having 3 elite attackers behind a striker. And, I wanted to experiment with the roaming playmaker role, which is one I've basically never used to any extent. It's amazing what happens when you give roles the right complementary roles around them. It was also tricky to get the right rest defense shape from our standard 4-3-3. I was using Balde as an attacking fullback, which meant I only had 4 players left to form our rest defense (typically in a 3-1). A 3-2 is significantly more stable, for obvious reasons.

As I see it, the 3 most important roles in this shape are the Libero, the RPM, and the AM-S. They form a spine for the team, and if we didnt get that right, the whole thing would fall apart.

The CD-D is also really important because he's typically the deepest defender and could get into some 1v1's against long balls.

Apologies I've only just seen this but great thread and as someone who worked on that feature I'm really pleased to see people enjoy it to this level!

April 23

Lovely post & thread!

I can't say for sure it was only because of Football Manager, but while very young I decided I wanted to become a Football coach having played Sports Interactive games going back to 2001/2002.

Before joining Sports Interactive in my current role, I was a professional coach having acquired my UEFA B License & had worked as an academy coach at a League Two football club. If not purely because of Football Manager, it at the very least played a huge influential part in my journey and I've now ended up here at the company itself.

April 22

4 hours ago, vrig said:

Having a 3421 on hand can be a help. It lets you match a 4222 in midfield while giving you a spare defender to deal with the strike partnership.

But if you are intent on keeping closer to your base tactic, I think your rest defence is missing a player. A 4222 naturally has 4 players left high up the pitch. You've got a 3-1 rest defence, so I wouldn't be too surprised if every turnover is leaving you facing a 4v4.

As for the attacking side, what @Cloud9 said.

Don't forget that's a IWB-D which will rotate into midfield so his rest defence would be a 2-2 or 3-2 depending on where the WB-S is and if they've advanced or not. (Might even look more like a 2-3 in some moments)

In answer to your question OP, I would approach it how you might solve this tactical problem if you encountered it or something similar in real life. Having something with 2 holding midfielders (That don't rotate forwards in the positional play rotations feature) to prevent quick attacks then looking to attack the opponent with attacking wing-backs that hold the width to create 2v1's on their full-back's might be worth a try.

It might be worth going into more detail about what you're struggling with against this formation. Is it creating chances & scoring or defending against this system? Because depending on that information it might be worth using a IFB-D role along with an attacking wing-back the other side to create 2v1's on one side, then using the other to have 3 central defenders while your team is attacking to create a 3v2 in your favour if your team turns over the ball and they play direct into their forward line.

This is the fun of football tactics there's so many different ways you can attack the same problem!

April 21

On 20/04/2024 at 10:33, dzek said:

I have a question about that.

If I play 424 and I want my tactic to transform into 4222 in possession. Is that possible?

With the example above I mean my AMRL to move on AMCRL position in possession.

Well it depends what you mean. Is there a positional rotation for this in the game? No. Could you use AP or IW with sit narrower and minimum width to create this shape? Yes.

April 15

I'm not 100% certain on what you're seeking as an overall tactical picture, but I would make sure that you don't have any roles at CM that rotate forwards (This keeps the wide players slightly wider) and/or make sure your team width is set to narrow. Also applying the PI of sit narrower could help further.

I often find when people mention something like this they have their team width set to wide, just changing from wide to narrow and seeing how they set up from things like goal kicks should show the difference on it's own. I would start with the team width first, then take a look at what roles you have that rotate forwards and force the wide players to stay wide and changing them seeing what combinations you feel like gives you the best balance.

April 10

Hi @henriquel

Please have a read through this and create a ticket if the steps don't help your issue

https://support.sega.com/hc/en-gb/articles/19429026666769-What-should-I-do-if-my-save-game-no-longer-loads-in-Football-Manager

Create a ticket link: https://support.sega.com/hc/en-gb/requests/663031

Thank you

Jack

February 23

Brilliant stuff I love this!

February 19

1 hour ago, RDF Tactics said:

So I love what we've done here. Browne plays the ball into number 44 but because of the work we did forcing that pass which we go and intercept. Not only we win the ball back but because of our instant numerical advantage, we're able to keep possession.

But, my RM. Top of the screen still doing the same thing of defending his position and not shifting over to defend with the pack. Even with never tight mark - I don't understand why this is happening

Just want to say firstly that this is a great thread. Started and written from someones pure love for FM and wanting to recreate something within FM24 and the spirit it's written in is shown in the same level of responses.

@RDF Tactics It appears to me that in some of your early screenshots you are playing against 3CB tactics with WB's and because of your formation match up & tactic versus theirs, your wide players are looking to man mark their wingers when they progress up the pitch in certain moments.

Great stuff though love stuff like this I wish I could participate more!

February 16

Hi @SkepticalGavin

Just so you're aware, that screen is only advisory as a reference point for your tactic and to help people understand the tactic they've set up better. The fact that some areas are red have no impact on the ME and how the tactic plays out or how the players play so you don't need to worry about that.

If you're happy with how you've set the tactic up feel free to ignore the advice and watch the tactic play out yourself and make your own judgments!

Hope this helps

Jack

January 15

They've got 4 central attacking players when they're countering or producing a quick direct attack.

If you go with your current shape in FM, they're going to have a spare player most of the time. You have 2v2 at CB then 1DM against 2 AMC's.

If you care primarily about stopping them and you're having an issue against this specific system i would consider a 3-4-2-1 type shape.

3CB's vs 2 ST (+1 in your favour for both defending and playing out)

2 DM's vs 2 AM's

WB's free to step up and press the opposing FB's when the ball is on their side

2 AM's vs 2DM's

1ST vs their 2 CB's.

Without getting into too much other detail as you haven't spoken about too much else other then the formation, from a numbers perspective this is where I would start against a 4-2-2-2 and especially a 4-2-2-2 in FM.

Don't forget with the positional rotations feature you can start it in a 3-4-2-1 and make it look a lot different in possession after the rotations kick in.

January 15

There will be some great people on the forum that can help you I'm sure.

For a start point I would suggest if you want your IF to be that narrow as you've posted in your image, you would want your team width to be a little narrower, set a Sit narrower PI on him and finally (maybe most importantly) change your AP role. The AP role is rotating forwards and will keep your IF wider because of this. You would need a "non rotating" CM role such as DLP or CM-S to prevent this.

@Rashidi did a thread about the positional rotations feature where the roles that trigger rotations are listed and this thread can be found here:

January 2

1 hour ago, DolphinSpain said:

So, put simply; 'step up' = 'try to play offsdies'?

Hi @DolphinSpain

I wrote a brief explanation for "step up" / "drop off" in a thread last year.

Hopefully this helps!

December 31, 2023

19 minutes ago, DolphinSpain said:

I'll ask again as there was no answer; has the 'play offside trap' been removed from tactics? It sounds like an obvious answer but I find it ridiculous if it has.

Yes it’s been removed

December 23, 2023

37 minutes ago, 2feet said:

Hi Jack

This is really useful to know, thanks

But I was wondering, is there a way that insights like this could be incorporated into the game itself, rather than on forums?

Its so useful to understand how things like this work, but I could never have really learned it just from watching a game.

For example, maybe your assistant manger could inform you of such insights via chats? Or some other method that improves immersion in the game?

Hi,

I’ll have to get back to you another time or get Jack Joyce to reply to you about the incorporation stuff you’ve mentioned, but this specific information was explained in the Positional play rotations feature blog that was published prior to the game being released.

https://www.footballmanager.com/features/truer-football-motion-match-authenticity-positional-play

December 23, 2023

34 minutes ago, dzek said:

IF role at least in this year move inside without the ball when the ball passed the halfway line (not always) and so with this movement he creates space for WBs to overlap. Also for many years in FM the most dangerous crosses was the lowest ones and I think it doesn't matter where they go. Sometimes they go into near post and sometimes into far post, if they received by your player 80% will be a goal.

Just to note to everyone regarding this, your IF movement could be affected by if you have a player rotating into the "AMC" position on their side of the pitch.

The IF is going to seek to stay a little wider then previously in FM if you have a rotating player going into the AMC position or area on their side.

For example in a 4-3-3 if your LW is a IF, and your LCM is a AP-A, the AP-A will be moving forwards forcing the IF to stay wider.

Also in a 4-2-3-1 if you have LW as IF but your AMC is being moved across to the left by a Segundo Volante rotating from RCDM , the AMC will move to the AMCL position seeking to make a 2 player partnership. This will now force the IF to stay a little wider.

December 16, 2023

15 hours ago, Muja said:

@Rashidi In the list you wrote, I only see players who move up positions. What can you tell us about players moving down?
I assume F9, DLF-su, and CF-su drop into the AM strata. Which others?

Oh never mind then, so there's no role coming deep, am I right?

As a matter of fact, I don't see the TQ doing that.
So I guess the only way to make a role come deep is to have the "comes deeper" trait, but that won't trigger a rotation anyway, correct?

The HB is the only role that will rotate backwards in the positional play rotations feature.

This isn’t to say players or other roles don’t come deep to get the ball generally however. For example any playmaking role will seek to get on the ball and be more willing to search for it.

November 30, 2023

32 minutes ago, akinozcan said:

I don't know if it's just me, but the appearances of the players on the field are different from those in real life. For example, Haaland has black hair, De Bruyne has black hair and is bald on top, etc.

Hi There

I've just checked this internally for you and it seems fine for us?

Can you try closing the game, clearing your cache and starting it up again to see if this fixes it?

https://support.sega.com/hc/en-gb/articles/19454208745745-How-to-remove-my-caches-and-or-preferences-folders-in-Football-Manager-

Thanks

November 30, 2023

7 minutes ago, Jack Joyce said:

Yes, goals are lower following the ME changes as a result of defensive improvements and tweaks to heading accuracy when players are being challenged directly by a defender.

For example in the Premier League, total goals per game went from around 3.1 per game to about 2.84 which should hopefully be a pretty good balance.

Just to add some real life context the Goals per game for the Premier League last season was 2.85

This season with a smaller sample size (and the new added time change which people sometimes forget to factor in) is currently 3.11 in real life. This may drop over the season but that's the current number.

I would always urge people to play the games themselves and have their own experience and try to avoid having other peoples experiences cloud their experience of the game.

November 30, 2023

1 hour ago, w_x said:

this series is worth watching, man knows his stuff

@Jack Sarahs good job

1 hour ago, 1twoQ said:

I also highly recommend this series, I've watched every episode and taken a decent bit of ideas from it.

Thank you both!

Apologies I’ve only just read this thread for the first time some fantastic stuff here.

I won’t be able to comment too much but one thing I’ll say is there’s more than 1 way to do the recreation. So don’t feel like because I’ve done it a certain way, that’s the only way it can be done because that’s not the point of the series at all!

Great win in the Europa League Final I love that!

November 5, 2023

On 01/11/2023 at 01:58, newsuzanoebok said:

what do i need to do to my IWB to really go to the middle and act like a defensive midfielder? cuz even if they get closer, i still cant figure out, or this is the maximum?

Can you post a screenshot of your tactic?

October 31, 2023

If you don’t have anyone in AMCL/AMCR on the side of the wide player after the rotations kick in, the difference is the same as before.

Inverted wingers seek to position themselves narrower than wingers. If you however have someone rotating into the AMC slot on their side (so LW it would be LCAM) then the difference might seem less it depends on your set up.

The PI is for what player generally do when they’ve got the ball at their feet, their positioning is largely affected by everything else in your tactic such as the role, the team width and the positional play rotations feature brand new to FM24.

October 28, 2023

4 hours ago, StephenG said:

This ME is getting ridiculous. 90% of the goals are from set pieces.

Hi there

Can you please send us your save file where 90% of the goals are from set pieces?

Do you have some stats within the game you can share to show this stat of 90% of goals from set pieces is correct?

thank you

October 21, 2023

18 hours ago, matty2323 said:

Fantastic information - really appreciated and informative.

Im curious, in real life i like my teams to play a narrow 4-4-2 diamond. 1 x DM, 2 x B2B CMs and 1 x AM. Traditionally in these formations the FBs are required to provide the width. However, depending on opposition shape, our 2 x B2Bs had the freedom to pull wide and turn the diamond in a wide 4-4-2 diamond and we would have the FBs stay narrower or even invert into central spots.

Im looking to emulate this in FM but I note that alot of the CM "rotations" involve vertical movements (CM to AM etc) but im curious if any of these roles allow horizontal and vertical rotations for midfielders?

If you play a 4-2-3-1 with DM’s and one of them (LCDM) is a Segundo Volante for example, when he rotates up to the AMCL area your AMC will rotate horizontally to the AMCR area.

October 20, 2023

5 hours ago, Amarante said:

Rotation of attackers are far more common now in modern football especially the F9 dropping deep and the inside forward becoming the striker. A missed opportunity here.

It's not a missed opportunity. We only had so much time to get these rotations in & this feature complete. We ideally would like to have gone even further with this feature and put even more rotations in, but we're pretty proud of what we've achieved as a team and I don't see this as a missed opportunity as a fan of the game or as an employee. We feel we've given people far more tools then ever before and I think anyone that loves tactics will appreciate this feature and as previously stated we would love to have added more in an ideal scenario but there wasn't another scenario or an option other then what we've put out as a team.

Hopefully people are enjoying the rotations we were able to put into the game this year.

October 20, 2023

5 hours ago, Hzano123 said:

Very interesting, are there any places I can look to see which roles doesn't trigger rotation?

All of the fluidity is very nice but some times I would love my team to be more rigid.

Yes it's all of the roles not listed above.

The roles listed above are the only roles that trigger rotations.

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